Men’s track athletes earn national bids

The results from the UCLA men’s track and field team’s weekend at the NCAA West Region Championships had a familiar feel for senior hurdler Brandon Johnson.

Johnson and the Bruins spent the weekend in Eugene, Ore., to compete for bids to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. As a team, UCLA finished fourth with 53.50 points and automatically qualified six Bruins for nationals.

For the third time in his career Johnson won the regional title in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing with a season-best time of 49.98 seconds in front of Washington State’s John Cassleman and USC’s Kai Kelley. During the race, Johnson hit the second and fifth hurdles, disrupting his rhythm a little bit. According to hurdles coach Tony Veney, Johnson could have run a faster race, but is progressing well at this point in the season. Johnson’s time launched him into the No. 6 400m hurdle time in the nation. He received an automatic bid to nationals.

“(Johnson) probably looked as good as he has in a couple of years on Saturday’s race,” Veney said. “I’m just so proud of him because he has been able to overcome the injuries and disappointment to keep his focus. He is a very resilient young man.”

Things did not go quite as planned for Kevin Craddock. The sophomore hurdler traveled to Oregon prepared to race in the 110m hurdles, but opted out of the race on Friday morning after he re-aggravated a hamstring injury during practice on Thursday.

“Our trainer (and) the coaching staff, we just thought that not risking it was going to be in his best interest,” Veney said.

Due to his inability to compete this weekend, Craddock’s season came to an early end, because all athletes competing at nationals must participate at the regional meet and finish in the top 12. As the Pac-10 title holder and the nation’s No. 2 hurdler in the 110m hurdles, Craddock had a successful season despite injury and illness throughout the year.

Another Bruin to automatically qualify for a trip to Sacramento for nationals is redshirt junior distance runner Austin Ramos. In the 5000m, Ramos finished second with 14:09.48 in a race that played out in his favor.

“It went out as a slow pace and then it came down to the last mile or so. It really didn’t feel like I had to strain myself in order to qualify,” Ramos said.

After being injured throughout his career at UCLA, Ramos will be making his first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Ramos said he is not only ready to take advantage of the opportunity to compete at nationals, but is especially excited because he will be able to run in front of his hometown crowd.

“I’m from Sacramento, so all my family is going to be out there and all of my friends,” he said. “I’m really excited that I made it this year instead of next year, when it’s not going to be in Sacramento.”

In addition to Johnson and Ramos, junior shot putter John Caulfield, junior thrower Greg Garza, senior pole vaulter Mike Landers and freshman hurdler Darius Reed earned automatic bids to nationals.

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