Wednesday, February 18, 1998
Bruins get set to compete in nationals
TRACK: Weekend results bring hopes for strong Bruin presence at
NCAAs
By Alvin Cadman and Donald Morrison
Daily Bruin Contributors
UCLA track and field assistant coach Art Venegas said the team
could be on its way to putting together a strong showing at the
NCAA Indoor National Championships in March if enough members
qualify. After Saturday’s performances at two different meets,
Venegas feels quite optimistic about the team’s chances of
finishing high at the national championships.
"We want to put together a good NCAA team," Venegas said. "If we
can get certain people into nationals, then we’ll have a heck of a
shot."
Two athletes that have a heck of a shot at qualifying for the
NCAA indoor championships are Jim McElroy and Damian Allen. McElroy
and Allen turned in stellar performances in the 55-meter dash at
the Air Force Indoor Invitational in Colorado Springs, Colo.
McElroy and Allen, who are used to running short distances as
members of the football team, each finished in the time of 6
minutes, 17 seconds. McElroy finished third and Allen placed fifth
in their respective races. Their time is one-hundredth of a second
off the automatic qualifying time for the NCAA Championships.
Venegas feels that their time, which is a provisional qualifying
time, will be good enough to get them into the championships.
"That’s an excellent indoor time," Venegas said. "The football
players are showing their explosiveness. They’re showing their
speed and what kind of shape they’re in early on in the
season."
Travis Haynes, who also competed at Air Force, automatically
qualified for the NCAA Championships with a mark of 61-7 3/4 in the
shot put. Haynes also set an indoor lifetime best while finishing
third. Wade Tift finished fourth in the same event with a mark of
60-1.
Four other athletes competed at the Air Force meet and performed
well. Luke Sullivan’s mark of 61-11 in the weight throw was good
enough to earn him a victory. Rich Pitchford captured second place
in the high-jump with a leap of 7 1/4. Scott Slover vaulted 17-10
1/2 in the pole vault, which was good enough for second place. Mel
Moultry finished third in the triple jump with a mark of 50-5
1/2.
Four members of the men’s team went to Indianapolis, Ind., to
race in the highly competitive Cannon IV Classic put on by Butler
University.
Distance runner Mark Hauser made the most out of the trip to
Indiana as he earned a personal record and an NCAA provisional
qualifying mark in the 3,000. Hauser’s time of 8:02.09 bettered his
previous indoor best of 8:16.01, which he set last week at the Los
Angeles Indoor Invitational.
Hauser finished ninth overall and was the sixth collegiate
runner to cross the line. Coach Bob Larsen feels that Hauser will
qualify for nationals since he is only one second away from the
automatic qualifying time.
"It was a great race for (Hauser)," Larsen said. "It’s a huge
improvement for him. People run fast here every year."
Mebrahtom Keflezighi automatically qualified for nationals in
the 5,000 after his performance on Saturday. Keflezighi finished
fifth with a time of 13:59.17.
"The main goal was to qualify for nationals," Larsen said of
Keflezighi’s performance. "He’s real strong but not real fast yet.
The pace picked up and he couldn’t go with the leaders."
Michael Granville and Jess Strutzel competed in the 800 on the
short, 200-meter track. Granville finished third in 1:51.01 while
Strutzel placed sixth in 1:52.64. The runners kept the pace modest
throughout much of the race, after Granville, Strutzel and Larsen
anticipated a fast race.
"Granville was too cautious and (Strutzel) should’ve caught up
to (Granville) after he realized the pace was modest."
Meanwhile, the UCLA women’s track and field team also made its
mark at the Air Force Indoor Invitational.
Sophomore Deana Simmons took first in the women’s triple jump
event with a mark of 43-5. After an impressive showing in the long
jump last weekend at the Los Angeles Indoor Invitational, Simmons
competed in her primary event on Saturday and earned an automatic
berth in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Simmons
will be the person to beat in the triple jump at the 1998 Pac-10
Championships.
In the women’s pole vault, Erica Hoerning took second place with
a mark of 11-5 3/4. This was Hoerning’s first competition this
season. She performed well against the rest of the field. She was
tied for first place after her final vault, but received second on
the tiebreaker.
In the women’s long jump, Kelly O’Connor jumped a seasonal best
18-8 to take 11th place. Right behind her was fellow Bruin Keisha
Porter, who jumped 18-3 to take 14th place. Both women added
another foot on their jumps from last weekend’s marks at the Los
Angeles Indoor Invitational.
The women’s shot put event was swept by UCLA for the second
weekend in a row. Senior Nada Kawar, who has already qualified for
the 1998 NCAA Indoor Championships, took second with a throw of
57-3/4 behind former Bruin Valeyta Althouse, who won with a throw
of 61-8 3/4 while competing for Reebok. Kawar’s top throw this
weekend was a lifetime indoor best and the second-best throw in the
nation for 1998.
Seilala Sua took third place in both the women’s shot put, with
a throw of 55-5, and the weight throw, with a mark of 58-1 1/4.
Meanwhile, Rachelle Noble completed the women’s sweep in the shot
put with a fourth place throw of 50-11 1/2, and went on to capture
the women’s weight throw with a provisional mark of 61-9 1/2, which
should qualify her for the indoor championships.