This past weekend, the nation’s most elite collegiate track and field athletes competed in the NCAA indoor championship in Fayetteville, Ark.
With the Oregon Ducks repeating as Division 1 indoor champions on the men’s side, and the Arkansas Razorbacks obtaining their first indoor women’s championship, the weekend was highlighted by a plethora of strong individual performances. The UCLA Bruins had three of their five competitors place in the top 10 in their respective events.
The highlight of the weekend for UCLA was its throwers. Redshirt senior weight thrower Ida Storm captured second place with a distance of 22.56 meters, securing eight points for the Bruins. On the men’s side, redshirt junior and Daily Bruin writer Nicholas Scarvelis placed tenth in the shot put with a mark of 18.46m. Scarvelis’ performance left a lasting impression on one of his teammates.
“Nick is going to be a huge piece in the future for this team,” said redshirt senior pole vaulter Mike Woepse.
Woepse came into the meet with the fifth-best mark in the nation in the pole vault. In the last meet of his UCLA career, Woepse finished in a three-way tie for seventh place in Fayetteville, with a jump of 5.40m. Woepse was not particularly happy with his performance, as the veteran vaulter entered the meet with high expectations for himself.
“Honestly, it was really disappointing,” Woepse said. “I was hoping to get a new record and score a few more points for the team. (I) didn’t do either, but as far as my career in general, I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Woepse was still selected as an All-American and obtained one point for the Bruins. In his five years with the track team, Woepse made a great deal of memories that he said he cherishes. He reflected on one particular event that tops them all.
“For sure jumping my PR at (USC) last year at home,” Woepse said. “My family was there, all my teammates were there, and the fans were there. To do it at home, that was just great.”
Although Woepse’s competitive career for the Bruins is over, he will still keep ties close to home. Woepse said he will continue to train with Bruins, and has just started his new role with the team as a volunteer assistant multi-events and jumps coach.
While coaching his former teammates, Woepse will also be training for a bigger goal at hand: qualifying for the U.S. for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Compiled by Vikram Sairam, Bruin Sports contributor.