Monday, June 3, 1996
Sprinter’s 9.92 in 100m is highlight of team’s third-place
finish the NCAAsBy Emmanuelle Ejercito
Daily Bruin Staff
EUGENE, Ore. Â Don’t blink, or you might miss him.
UCLA sprinter Ato Boldon has said that he wants to be the future
of sprinting. With his performance on the last day of competition
at the NCAA outdoor championships, he showed that the future isn’t
very far away.
Boldon flew to the finish line in 9.92 seconds, breaking stadium
and NCAA meet records and establishing himself as a favorite at the
Olympics with the fastest time in the world this year.
Boldon’s NCAA individual title contributed 10 points to UCLA’s
third place performance. The Bruins managed to accumulate 37 points
even with the setback of injuries that prevented their athletes,
notably Ibrahim Hassan, from competing in the championships.
Meanwhile, Arkansas successfully defended its title, claiming
the crown for the fifth consecutive year with 55 points. George
Mason took second by earning six points on the last event Â
the 1,600 meter relay  to bring its total to 40 points.
"It’s always nice to finish in the top three," UCLA head coach
Bob Larsen said. "I’m really proud of the guys coming through with
third. Without Hassan it was a challenge to get a second or third
place finish … We should celebrate (third place) and the
wonderful performances of several athletes."
Boldon ran well throughout the championships. In the first
qualifying round, he led the pack with a 10.06 and followed that
with a wind-aided 9.97 in the semifinals Friday, not to mention a
fast second leg on the UCLA relay.
It was hard to believe that he could outdo himself after four
days of high quality running. But he did.
Boldon was in the fifth lane in the finals, and because of
injuries, University of Texas-El Paso’s Obadele Thompson and Alvis
Whitted of North Carolina State withdrew, leaving Boldon stranded
alone in the middle of the track.
"It’s ridiculous to see how that could happen," Boldon said.
"It’s the worst thing, it’s like running in practice, but with a
(personal record), I can’t really complain."
At last year’s championship, Boldon was called for a
controversial false start in the semifinals, an event that may have
been in the back of his mind as he stood in the starting
blocks.
"(The false start) made me a little more tentative at the start
than I wanted to be," Boldon said.
But Boldon more than made up for it in the middle of the race.
Breaking away from the field after about 30 meters, Boldon picked
up his pace in a legal wind of 0.8 and the crowd of 10,268 watched
as Boldon threw his arms up in victory after the record-setting
run.
"(The win) tells me that in a race with rounds, I can come out
and compete successively better with each round," Boldon said. "And
if I am complacent with myself, I can run a good race in the final
regardless of what the conditions are."
Boldon, however, was not the only Bruin to set a personal
best.
Senior Gentry Bradley had the best meet of his life, capped off
with an unexpected second place finish in the 200 meters.
"I can’t say enough about Gentry," Larsen said. "He wasn’t on
any of the dope sheets I saw and for him to finish second … it
was phenomenal meet for him."
Bradley was not even expected to make it to the finals, entering
the meet as the 18th ranked 200-meter runner. Yet Bradley set a
personal record twice during the four-day championships.
Bradley trailed coming around the turn, running in about fifth
place, but he came on in the last 40 meters to finish in 20.48. His
previous personal best was a 20.54 run in the first qualifying
round.
"I won’t lie, I almost did what I set out to do," Bradley said.
"I thought that I had a chance of winning. But it was a great
meet."
Bradley also ran the anchor leg of the 400-meter relay which
captured a surprising second place. Surprising because the team of
Erik Allen, Bradley, Boldon, and Akil Davis had only run in two
races this season, with its best result of 39.60 coming at the
Pac-10 meet.
Davis, who substituted for Hassan in the relay, opened the race
for the Bruins. He passed the baton to Boldon who ran a spectacular
second leg to take the lead, but Milton Campbell overcame Allen on
the third leg to give North Carolina the lead. Curtis Johnson broke
the tape for the Tar Heels at 39.05 while UCLA held off Iowa State
to finish second in 39.31.
"I just have to attribute (the second place finish) to the
tenacity of the guys," UCLA sprints coach John Smith said. "They
did a wonderful job of making things work. Just typical Bruins
 we made things happen regardless. We lost one of our star
players and still came through."
Another unexpected scorer for the Bruins was David Dumble in the
discus. Coming into the meet, Dumble had the 13th best throw in the
nation. Dumble, however, rose to the occasion and threw for an
eighth place 186-6.
"David exceeded my expectations," UCLA throwing coach Art
Venegas said. "Don’t be fooled by this mark. The marks mean nothing
here because he beat so many guys who have thrown 195 and 200. It
was a normal day but not a good wind, just a dead air … but David
just threw phenomenal, out of his mind. (He) gave us a nice team
boost."
The results from the shot put weren’t quite as pleasant.
Senior Mark Parlin, considered one of the favorites with the
nation-leading throw of 64-8, seemed poised to win his first
national title. However, Wake Forest’s Andy Bloom, pumped by his
title-winning 211-1 throw in the discus, came out strong in the
shot, heaving a 65-0 1/2 to complete the double in Eugene. Parlin
took third with 62-10 1/2.
"I think the pressure of never winning the title before got to
Mark a little bit," Venegas said. "I just think that he lost his
form once he got tense in the ring … you could see that he lost
confidence and relaxation. It was tough for him, he fell short, but
he’s been a great champion and great athlete for us all these
years."
With the national title mathematically out of reach as UCLA
entered its last event, Mebrahtom Keflezighi went for the win
instead of just trying to score for the Bruins in the 5,000 meters.
Keflezighi took the lead with seven and a half laps to go and tried
to build a strong lead but could not break away. Last year’s
fifth-place finisher faded with four laps to go and ended up
finishing 9th in 14:31.71.
"I told Meb he could go for it," Larsen said. "He went all out
… but he didn’t have enough strength to run in the end. I’m proud
he gave it a shot."
"Just typical Bruins … We lost one of our star players and
still came through."
John Smith
UCLA Sprints CoachPATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin
Improving on his own world record of 9.93, UCLA’s Ato Boldon won
the NCAA 100-meters in 9.92 Saturday.