Despite not having some of their key athletes, the Bruins keep
showing just how complete a team they have.
Even with some of their particular standouts, the women’s
track and field squad handily won the Cal/Nevada Championships at
Fresno State.
Overall, the Bruin women posted nine individual victories, even
without senior Dawn Harper or freshman Nicole Leach, two of the
team’s top sprinters.
“I think we are really showing people how deep this team
is,” UCLA coach Jeanette Bolden said. “We didn’t
have a lot of sprinters out there, but we had enough people in the
field to show that we have great balance.”
But even without a full squad, the upperclassmen stepped up and
contributed a bevy of fine performances.
Chelsea Johnson, in her first meet since securing the NCAA
Indoor title, continued her dominance in the pole vault on Saturday
as she increased her nation-leading mark to 14 feet, 6.25 inches.
The senior led a UCLA sweep of the event that captured the first
four spots.
“Chelsea just keeps doing what she’s been
doing,” Bolden said. “It’s great to have a senior
leader like her that continues to be so consistent every time she
competes.”
The Bruins had a banner day in the distances as well. On Friday,
junior Ashley Caldwell took the 5,000-meter in 17:00.21 despite
rainy weather.
On Saturday, fellow junior Jenna Timinsky posted an impressive
double victory, winning both the 800-m and 1,500-m races in 2:11.48
and a season-best 4:30.83, respectively.
Though the team was without their top hurdler in Harper, the
Bruins were still well-represented in the 100-m hurdles, with
sophomore Georgea Richards winning in a season-best time of
14.05.
Also putting up big points for the Bruins were the jumpers, who
also swept their event, even without redshirt senior Caroline
Sommers.
Freshman Rhonda Watkins led the way, clearing 5-8.75. In the
long jump, sophomore Renee Williams won with a mark of 19-6.
“Our jumpers have really shined,” Bolden said.
“They did a great job of staying focused and keeping
positive.”
Another notable absence from the Bruin roster at Fresno over the
weekend was junior Kamaiya Warren, who traveled north to the
prestigious Stanford Invitational to participate in the throwing
events.
In the shot put, Warren took third place with a throw of
50-11.50, while her mark of 164 in the discus put her in sixth.
“(Kamaiya) is going to do really well as she progresses
toward the end of the season,” Bolden said.