Any satisfaction that UCLA’s Chelsea Johnson might have
taken from her meet-record performance in the pole vault Saturday
was tempered by her concern over the condition of her injured left
knee. Johnson, who already had left knee surgery in September to
repair a torn meniscus, tweaked it again in warm-ups Saturday and
will have it examined by team doctors today. Though she was
hesitant to speculate on the extent of the damage, she did say it
felt similar to the meniscus tear. “I’m not too worried
about it though because it only hurts when I turn to the
side,” Johnson said. “Front movement, it feels fine. If
I can go the rest of the season without getting surgery, I’ll
do that.” The injury certainly didn’t seem to affect
her much Saturday as Johnson cleared a season-best 14 feet, 1.25
inches to take first place in the pole vault and secure five
crucial points. It is the top-collegiate mark of the season so far
and marks the first time that Johnson has cleared the 14-foot mark
since the Olympic Trials last summer. Though the junior has not yet
approached her lifetime best of 15 feet, she is happy with the
incremental progress she has made recently after an injury-plagued
indoor season. “It definitely feels good,” Johnson
said. “It’s hard in track to time when you peak, but at
least I’m getting better every weekend and progressing to
when it really matters in June.”
SWEET REDEMPTION: Jessica Cosby redeemed herself in the shot put
Saturday after a very disappointing fourth-place finish in the
hammer throw Friday, fouling five times. Cosby, a fifth-year
senior, took first place with a mark of 57 feet, 10.25 inches,
beating a lifelong best that stood since winning the NCAA
championship in the shot put her freshman year. “It was such
a stale lifetime best. It had to go,” UCLA throws coach Art
Venegas said. “That was nice. Finally she got that lifetime
best from way back out of the way. I think if she had a better meet
in the hammer, she could have really gone wild today.”
Venegas said that Cosby, who has returned to the glide technique
after working with the spin earlier this season, consistently threw
59 feet in practice this week. If she can throw that at the NCAA
Championships in June, it would give her a legitimate chance at her
second title.
ODDS AND ENDS: Dawn Harper shook off the effects of a hamstring
injury to for second place in the 100-meter hurdles in a
season-best 13.11 seconds … Alison Costello set a school record
in the steeplechase with a mark of 10 minutes, 33.70 seconds …
USC’s Virginia Powell shaved another hundredth of a second
off her national-leading time in the 100-meter hurdles with a time
of 12.74 seconds … Jenna Timinksy ran a season-best 2 minutes,
9.28 seconds in the 800 meters, but could not beat USC’s
Treani Swain … Jolanda Diego improved upon her season best in the
100 and 200 meters.