Friday, April 5, 1996
Bruins looking to Althouse, Acuff for first place finishesBy
Scott Yamaguchi
Daily Bruin Staff
Darlene Malco and Joanna Hayes each won their heat in the
preliminary rounds of the 400-meter hurdles Thursday, capping
another successful day for the UCLA track and field teams at the
Texas Relays in Austin.
On Wednesday, Bruin sophomore Mebrahtom Keflizighi finished
third in the men’s invitational division of the 5,000 meters.
Keflizighi, who was first among collegians, ran the race in an NCAA
provisionally qualifying time of 14:02.53.
Also on Wednesday, senior Jeanene Harlick ran a lifetime best
35:51.84 in the 10,000. Harlick was fifth overall and second among
collegians, but missed the provisional qualification standard by
less than 12 seconds.
Official results for the women’s 400 hurdles were not available
at press time, but Malco was unofficially clocked at 59.8, and
Hayes at 60.01.
Those times, according to head coach Jeanette Bolden, should
have been among the eight fastest of the day, in which case both
Malco and Hayes would be entered in today’s finals.
Regardless, today looks to be UCLA’s strongest day of
competition in the prestigious meet, which has attracted all of the
top collegiate programs in the nation.
"You’ve got some great competition," Bolden said "You’ll see a
lot of the top schools in the country here, so it’s almost like a
preview of the NCAAs."
Two of the Bruins’ best hopes for first place finishes Â
Valeyta Althouse and Amy Acuff  will be in action today.
Althouse, the American collegiate record-holder in the indoor
and outdoor shot put, is a sure bet to be the top collegian
finisher in that event, where she will be joined by teammate Nada
Kawar.
Acuff, who won the high jump at outdoor nationals last year but
has struggled in recent weeks, is expected to break out of her
slump in Texas.
"Amy’s like a bear in hibernation," Bolden said. "It’s a long
season for her, and she’s just waking up.
"She’s very, very strong right now, because she did a lot of
strong training in the fall, so it’s just a matter of making
adjustments in her approach."
On the track, Hayes will join sophomore Bisa Grant in the
preliminary heats of the 100 hurdles in the morning, and then,
assuming they’ve qualified, will run the final of the 400 hurdles
with Malco in the evening.
Katherina Kechris, Zalika Davis, Bethany Lucas and Jessica
Graham will join forces for the 4 x 800 relay.
On Saturday, Kawar and Suzy Powell will throw the discus, where
Powell is the current NCAA leader, having thrown a season-best 196
feet 5 inches last weekend in San Diego.
Jeanarta Jackson will compete in the long jump, where she also
achieved a personal record last week, and Grant and Hayes, if they
qualify, will run in the 100 hurdles final.