Bruins aim for outdoor bids

Approaching the most competitive part of the season, the No. 7 UCLA women’s track and field team is on the road in Eugene, Ore., this weekend for the NCAA West Region Championships.

The most talented athletes in the country are competing in this meet due to the strict requirements that have to be met in order to qualify. The Bruins will be sending 22 athletes to Eugene with hopes that most will qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Because only the top five finishers in each event and the top three relay teams earn automatic bids to the outdoor championships, UCLA will need to execute and compete with the utmost intensity.

After dominating USC in the USC/UCLA Dual Meet, the Bruins looked toward the Pac-10 Championships with enthusiasm and anticipation. The Bruins met their match competing against the other talented teams and finished in third place at the Pac-10 meet.

Motivated and driven, UCLA approaches the Regional Championships with another chance to validate its reputation as one of the top track and field programs in the country. Junior pole vaulter Ingrid Kantola, who tied for fourth in the country with a vault mark of 13-7.25, is confident that the team is becoming stronger and more knowledgeable as the season progresses.

“After the Pac-10, we had to realign our goals a little bit and realize we weren’t as strong as we thought we were,” Kantola said. “We need to come through in all the areas, instead of relying on our jumps to pull us through meets.”

The jumps unit, led by sophomore Rhonda Watkins and redshirt junior Renee Williams, continues to improve and overwhelm opposition.

“The top-tier athletes like Rhonda and Renee are going to take care of business, and I’m going to make sure the other athletes really focus and get on top of it really early,” jumps coach Mike Powell said. “The intensity goes up every week, starting with the ‘SC meet. We’ve been talking all year about going to the national championships, but we have to execute. The intensity is definitely there, and we need to be loose and perform.”

Due to the stiff competition at the Regional Championships, the Bruins can only hope that their athletes’ hard work and dedication will translate into a triumphant showing in preparation for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

“This year I am extra motivated and the region is really wide open; anyone can win,” Kantola said. “It’s always a fun meet, and Oregon is a great place with a great crowd.”

“We know what we’re capable of, and it takes a lot of hard work,” sophomore sprinter and hurdler Nicole Leach said. “It’s for the love of the sport.”

NOTES: The Bruins will be without five-time All-American and talented 1500-meter runner Ashley Caldwell after she was diagnosed with a right tibia stress fracture.

Jolanda Diego, regionally ranked seventh in the 100m and 11th in the 200m, will also not compete after sustaining a hamstring injury during the 100m finals at the Pac-10 meet.

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