Determined to resuscitate UCLA’s once-dominant men’s
sprints and hurdles program, coach Tony Veney took another step
toward national respectability last week when he landed the
program’s biggest recruiting coup in years.
Kevin Craddock, easily the nation’s top prep hurdler,
verbally committed to the Bruins on Wednesday, marking the second
consecutive year UCLA has netted a world-class hurdling
prospect.
Last fall, it was reigning Texas state champion Brandon Johnson,
who rebuffed several other big-name collegiate programs to join
Veney in Westwood. Now it’s Craddock, who spurned Florida,
USC and Arizona State, among others, to come UCLA.
“Florida was close, but he liked the team atmosphere
better at UCLA,” said Lee Webb, Craddock’s coach at
James Logan High School in Union City. “He knew a lot of the
guys already. It was just a good fit.”
UCLA, seemingly devoid of elite sprinters and hurdlers just a
few years ago, has assembled quite an impressive group. Johnson, a
sophomore, was the runner-up at the World Junior Championships in
the 400-meter hurdles, while junior Craig Everhart is expected to
contend for the NCAA 400-meter championship this season.
But the best of all could be Craddock, who has already posted
better marks at 17 years of age than all but the best
collegians.
The 6-foot-4, 180-pound senior ran a personal best 13.74 seconds
in the 110-meter hurdles (college height) at the World Junior
Championships over the summer. That mark is faster than all but one
of the current UCLA hurdlers, senior Anthony Golston, and would
have placed him in the top 15 in the nation last season.
“He’s probably the greatest high school hurdler
ever,” Webb said. “He’s everything a coach could
ask for. Sometimes I’ll walk out to the track to start
practice, and he’ll already have run two miles.”
Many had speculated that Craddock could be headed to Washington,
where his sister Cheri is a member of the track and field and
women’s basketball teams. But the Huskies hadn’t hired
a sprints coach when Craddock was making his decision, so he
instead turned his focus elsewhere.
UCLA, which had been recruiting Craddock since he burst onto the
national scene as a sophomore in high school, took advantage. The
Bruins offered Craddock a scholarship, and after taking his
official visit on Oct. 9, he accepted.
Craddock, who weighed just 140 pounds as a freshman in high
school, could make a run at the national prep records in both the
110m and 300m hurdles. He impressed recruiters last May, running
personal best marks of 13.39 seconds in the 110m hurdles and 35.93
seconds in the 300m hurdles at the California State
Championships.