Chelsea Johnson, the defending outdoor national champion in the
pole vault, strained a hamstring in practice this past week and
will not compete for the next several weeks. The junior hopes to
return on Feb. 25 for the MPSF Indoor Championships in Seattle. It
is UCLA’s final indoor meet before the NCAA Indoor
Championships, so Johnson will need to post a qualifying mark to be
eligible. “That shouldn’t be a problem for her,”
UCLA pole vault coach Anthony Curran said. Johnson, who broke the
NCAA record with a 15-foot vault this past April, would be one of
the favorites to win the indoor championship in March if she is
able to compete.
SITTING OUT: Monique Henderson, a member of the U.S. Olympic
4x400m relay team this past August, will not participate in the
indoor season for the second consecutive year. The senior sprinter
enjoyed the best outdoor season of her career last spring,
finishing second in the 400m at the NCAA Championships and fourth
at the U.S. Olympic Trials. “I had such a good season last
year after not running indoors,” Henderson said. “I
want to try to duplicate that success.”
NCAA QUALIFIERS: Junior Briona Reynolds led a trio of NCAA
provisional qualifiers for UCLA at Saturday’s Husky
Invitational in Seattle. Reynolds posted a 50-foot, 9-inch mark in
the shot put to take first place in the event. Juniors Dawn Harper
and Jackie Nguyen also earned provisional marks in the 60-meter
hurdles and pole vault, respectively.