Despite the importance of individual performance, the UCLA women’s track and field jumpers dominated as a unit at this weekend’s Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational.
The Bruins swept the top three spots in the high jump and triple jump competitions, and it was clear that the athletes thrived as a team. Junior Renee Williams had a fantastic weekend. Her outdoor lifetime-best long jump of 21 feet 0.5 inches placed No. 6 on the national list, and her winning triple jump achieved a regional mark of 42-5.25, the No. 7 mark in the country.
“When I first came in, I felt a bit sluggish,” Williams said. “But watching the other girls, I felt a competitive fever inside me. I’m glad my teammates and I competed at a high level today.”
Junior Keneisha Creary and sophomore Rhonda Watkins had already posted some of the top marks in the country when Williams followed suit with her huge performance.
Coach Mike Powell was impressed with his team’s success in the high, long, and triple jump events.
“This is preparation for the big meets coming up,” Powell said. “It’s good to get a good meet in front of the home crowd. … Williams did very well, and my goal is for us to take three people to the national championships in the long jump and triple jump. We’re consistent, healthy, (and) looking forward to future meets.”
The Bruins took the top three spots in the triple jump competition with Williams, Creary, and junior Nicole Duhart finishing first, second and third, respectively. All three had regional-qualifying marks and are looking to excel in future competitions.
UCLA athletes swept the high jump event as well. Watkins, Creary, and junior Allie Miller finished first, second and third, respectively. It was Watkins’ debut jump of the season.
TEAMMATES RUNNING SIDE BY SIDE: The Bruins didn’t excel in just the jumping event. In the 1500 meters, junior Allie Bohannon finished first, with teammate Ashley Caldwell a close second.
“That was an exciting race, and it was great to have an event like that,” distance coach Eric Peterson said. “Ashley Caldwell has amazing experience as a senior, and I was extremely proud how she took control of that race. Once we fix some of her technical errors finishing the race, she will be extremely dominant. Allie Bohannon got herself in a couple of boxes, and she needed to spend a lot of energy. But she’s got that ability to take off at the end, at the level of anyone in the country.”
For the majority of the race, Caldwell comfortably dominated. During the last 40 meters, her teammate Bohannon overtook her for a slim lead. Bohannon ran a lifetime-best and regional-qualifying time of 4:23.59, and Caldwell finished just 0.03 seconds behind her teammate.
“It’s one of those things where you hope it’s your teammate running side by side, the person whom you practice and compete with on a daily basis,” Caldwell said. “We’re looking to build on our experience and continue to get better.”
VAULTING OVER THE REST: Competing in her last meet at Drake Stadium, senior Jacqueline Nguyen won Saturday’s pole vault event with a mark of 13-3.25. With one of the top marks in the country, Nguyen looks to improve as the season progresses.
“I’ve really been improving each week ““ just some technical things,” Nguyen said. “I feel more comfortable competing and my confidence is high. I want to first get back to my personal record of 13-7 next week and at the USC meet.”
Next weekend, the UCLA women’s track and field team will compete at the UC San Diego Triton Invitational.
With reports from Sam Allen, Bruin Sports senior staff.