Friday, April 17, 1998
Competitors prepare to make run at NCAA championships
TRACK: Women set sights on Texas; men take aim at field of Mt.
SAC Relays
By Alvin Cadman
Daily Bruin Mack’s Daddy
The UCLA women’s track and field team head into the second half
of the season riding a wave of success and great performances that
they hope will carry them all the way to the summer, but not before
a stop in Buffalo, New York for the NCAA Championships.
After an impressive showing at Drake Stadium last weekend
against Houston, CS Northridge and Minnesota, the Bruin women will
tune-up this week at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut and the Long
Beach Classic, a popular location to find some good surfing
conditions and great track athletes this weekend.
Coach Jeannette Bolden’s Bruin women’s squad were ranked second
in the nation on the collegiate charts last week, and trail only
1998 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Champion Texas in the rankings.
Bolden, in her fifth season here in Westwood, has had three NCAA
top three finshes at the Collegiate Championships. She has led the
Bruin women to the Pac-10 title three out of the last four years.
She has never lost a dual meet and has a career and school record
of 44-0.
On Monday, senior Suzy Powell was named Pac-10 Women’s Field
Athlete of the Week. She won the javelin event last weekend at
Drake Stadium with a throw of 174-10. This is a season-best throw
for Powell, who earned an automatic berth into the 1998 NCAA
Outdoor Championships in this event and the women’s discus.
Junior Joanna Hayes, a nominee for Women’s Track Athlete of the
Week, won the 100 meter hurdles in 13.37 seconds last Saturday.
This was a season best for Hayes, and is a provisional qualifying
time for the NCAA Outdoors.
Freshman Shakedia Jones has qualified in two events for the 1998
NCAA Outdoors. Jones is an automatic double-entry in both the 55
meter and 200 meter sprint events. She has made an immediate impact
on the team as a first-year, and will be called upon to score
points in both events for the Bruins to overtake the Longhorns of
Texas for a national championship.
After competition this weekend, the Bruins will split squads and
compete at the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia and the
Cal-Nevada Championship in Fresno on April 23 through 26.
Daily Bruin File Photo
UCLA ace Seilala Sua throws discus in a match last year.