Friday, 5/9/97 Two meets more effective than one for Bruin squad
UCLA will divide team to polish up for Pac-10 championships
By Donald Morrison Daily Bruin Contributor Like the men’s team,
UCLA’s top-ranked women’s track team will split up this Saturday –
part of the team will compete at the Modesto Invitational, while
the other part will be at Eagle Rock, taking part in the Occidental
Invitational. The throwing team and Amy Acuff will be at Modesto.
The sprinters, jumpers and distance team will be at Occidental.
"There should be very good wind and some stiff competition in
Modesto," UCLA head coach Jeanette Bolden said. "Some of us need
some tune-up meets and that’s why we’re going to Occidental. Some
people that have made qualifying marks need to get some good
competition." Suzy Powell, the Pac-10 Field Athlete of the Week
three weeks in a row, will be making a trip home when she competes
in the discus and javelin throws at Modesto. Seilala Sua and Nada
Kawar will try to improve their marks in the shot put. Kawar is
third in the nation and Sua is fifth. Rachelle Noble will attempt
to better her seasonal best, 188 feet, 10 inches in the hammer
throw. Acuff, third in the nation in the high jump with a leap of
6-3 1/4, will be looking to perform well in Northern California
before she has to compete against Erin Aldrich of Arizona at the
Pac-10 championships. Aldrich is the Pac-10 leader, with a mark of
6-3 1/2. At Occidental, Cicely Scott will make her outdoor season
debut as she competes in the 400-meter. Scott ran the 400-meter in
55.19 during the indoor season. Zalika Davis will also run the 400-
and 1,500-meters on Saturday. Joni David will compete in the
400-meter hurdles. David has run a 1:03.35 in that hurdle event and
will need to run under 1:02.54 to qualify for the Pac-10
championships in two weeks. Although the distance team will compete
at Occidental, none of the athletes will run in an event longer
than 1,500 meters. Katherina Kechris, who usually runs in the
3,000-meter, will run in the 1,500- or 800-meters. Deanna Simmons
and Kelly O’Connor will be in the triple and long jumps. Simmons
ranks fifth in the nation in the triple jump with a mark of 44-2
3/4 and O’Connor is sixth in the Pac-10 in the long jump with a
leap of 19-6 1/4. Zoe Shaw and Kiesha Porter are likely to compete
in the long jump as well. UCLA hopes to prove worthy of its No. 1
ranking this weekend and again at the Pac-10 championships in two
weeks in Seattle. "Now that they’ve ranked us No. 1, we have to
live up to some of the expectations that Trackwire has put out for
us," Bolden said. "People need to stay healthy. We need to keep
doing what we’ve been doing." Related Links: NCAA Women’s Track