Amid a sea of collegiate and professional throwers at the
Hartnell Throwers Meet, one Bruin athlete proved UCLA’s
future looks bright.
While often overshadowed by the accomplishments of senior
All-American Dan Ames, redshirt sophomore Jeremy Silverman’s
marks put him in position to lead the Bruin throwing corps once
Ames graduates.
“After three years under a great thrower, I’m ready
to step up to the next level,” Silverman said.
Silverman, the runner-up at the Pac-10 Championships in the shot
put, posted a personal best mark in the discus at the Hartnell
Throwers Meet in Salinas, Calif. on Wednesday.
Silverman’s performance in the open discus event was good
for not only a fourth-place finish, but a personal record of 180
feet, 2 inches. Less than a week earlier at the Pac-10
Championships, Silverman managed to post a seventh-place mark of
just under 168 feet.
“The Salinas meet is a lower pressure meet,”
Silverman said.
In a normal scoring meet like the Pac-10s, throwers must be
careful not to foul on their early throws or they will not qualify
for the finals.
At the Hartnell Throwers Meet, each athlete is guaranteed six
throws, allowing throwers to take more risks without worrying about
fouling.
Having achieved multiple discus throws beyond his previous
personal best of 174-09, Silverman is in a position to compete well
at the NCAA West Regionals meet in Northridge this weekend.
“Salinas definitely helped boost my confidence,” he
said.
While Silverman is still a longshot to advance to nationals in
the discus, his No. 10 national ranking in the shot put makes him
considerably more optimistic in that event.
“His discus is weaker than his shot put,” throws and
men’s track and field coach Art Venegas said. “In the
shot, he is already a national caliber athlete.”
Along with Silverman, Ames will represent the Bruins at
nationals.
“He always leads us into battle,” said Silverman.
“It’s good to chase someone, and very
motivating.”
Silverman will be among many current Bruins who will work to
help ease the loss of Ames in the throws. Also returning next year
will be freshman Brian Ruziecki, sophomore Jake Knight and current
redshirts Josh Rider and Greg Garza.
Venegas also boasts a new class of recruits, including prep
senior Vachet Sevajian. Although he intends to redshirt his
recruits next season, they will be an important part of the future
of UCLA throws.
“We have a deep group of throwers,” said Venegas.
“With such a good talent pool, there could be surprises next
year.”