Friday, 5/23/97 Bruins look to capture title at Pac-10
Championships W.TRACK: Washington State, Stanford, USC stand in
UCLA’s way
By Donald Morrison Daily Bruin Contributor The No. 1-ranked
Bruins will take a trip up north to Seattle this weekend to compete
in the Pac-10 Championships. UCLA is looking to come out victorious
after last year’s third-place finish. "We are trying to win the
Pac-10s, not necessarily trying to make an impression on the
conference," said UCLA head coach Jeanette Bolden. "We want to win
the conference. It’s going to be difficult with USC, Stanford and
Washington State (as opponents) but that’s what we’re going to do –
try to win our conference." If successful, the Bruins will win
their eighth Pac-10 title in 11 years and their fourth out of the
last five. The competition promises to be stiff, with defending
Pac-10 champion USC at full strength. However, the trip to Seattle
is an eagerly anticipated one for the Bruins. "Everybody feels
good," Bolden said. "Everyone is excited. They know that even
though we beat USC at the dual meet, that that wasn’t the true USC
team. The true USC team is going to show up for Pac-10s. Everybody
knows that and we’re not taking anything for granted." Defending
Pac-10 champions Amy Acuff, Darlene Malco and Joanna Hayes will try
to defend titles in their respective events. Acuff, a five-time
NCAA champion, will look to win her fourth Pac-10 title in the high
jump. Arizona freshman Erin Aldrich is arguably Acuff’s biggest
competition. Aldrich has jumped 6 feet, 3 1/2 inches and Acuff has
leaped 6-4 indoors. Hayes will run in the 100- and 400-meter
hurdles as well as the 400 relay. She hopes to repeat as 100
hurdles champion this year and is the favorite in that event and
the 400 hurdles. Malco is going to run in the 400 this year and
will try to better her conference winning time of 52.39 from last
year. Teammate Andrea Anderson will go against Malco in the 400 and
will also run in the 200. UCLA is expected to dominate the throwing
events. Suzy Powell will try to win the discus title. She leads the
nation with an American collegiate record throw of 214 feet but
will receive competition from teammate Seilala Sua. At the Salinas
Invitational on Wednesday, Sua set an American junior record of
208-2. Freshman jumpers Deana Simmons and Kelly O’Connor will
compete in the long and triple jumps. Simmons is the Pac-10 leader
in the triple with a mark of 44-2 3/4. O’Connor is fifth in the
Pac-10 in the long jump with a leap of 19-6 1/4. The distance corps
will have their work cut out for them. Athletes from USC, Stanford
and Oregon promise to give the Bruins tough competition. Four of
the seven distance runners have never competed in the Pac-10
championships, but that isn’t going to deter them from running
well. "Their spirits are very high," distance coach Eric Peterson
said. "Their training is better than ever. They’re in great shape.
They’ve been having great workouts recently. There is good positive
feelings going around among the group." Katherina Kechris will run
in the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters. Kechris set a new
personal record on Sunday at USC in the 3,000 meters, winning the
race with a time of 9:23.19. Her time is third in the Pac-10.
Bethany Lucas and Zalika Davis are ranked sixth and seventh,
respectively, in the conference in the 800 meters and could score
points for the Bruins in that event. Related Links: NCAA