Tuesday, April 21, 1998
Bruins achieve personal, season bests at Mt. SAC
WOMEN’S TRACK: Hatch, Davis, Ott, Grant cruise to top finishes
at invitational
By Alvin Cadman
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA women’s track and field team spent the weekend basking
in the warm sun and the arduous competition at the prestigious 40th
annual Mt. San Antonio College (SAC) Relays in Walnut, Calif. The
Bruins went into the meet ranked second in the nation behind the
Lady Longhorns of Texas, the 1998 NCAA Indoor Track and Field
champions.
On Friday, UCLA freshman Bridget Hatch won the 800 meters with a
time of 2:08.69. Bruin junior Zalika Davis was stride-for-stride
with Hatch before finishing second with an official time of
2:09.26. Both times were season bests for the Bruins, with Hatch
establishing a personal best. Davis was ranked eighth in the Pac-10
coming into the meet, while Hatch was seeded 11th for the
Bruins.
In the 10,000 meters, UCLA’s Julie Ott finished fourth with a
time of 35:01.40. West Virginia’s Charity Wachera cruised to
victory with a time of 34:23.95. Ott’s time places her fourth
all-time in UCLA women’s history in the 10,000 meters. Four of the
top 10 all-time best marks in UCLA history in the women’s 10,000
meters have been set at the Mt. SAC Relays. On Sunday afternoon,
Christina Bowen took fourth in the 1,500 meter run. Her time of
4:28.33 was a personal best and places her 10th in the Pac-10
rankings.
In the women’s 100 meter high hurdles, senior Bisa Grant took
first with a time of 13.69 seconds. She edged out Legretta Hinds
(who competed unattached) by nine-hundreths of a second. Grant is
currently seeded third in the Pac-10 in this event and will battle
Joanna Hayes at the Pac-10 Championships.
Making a special appearance at the 1998 Mt. SAC Relays was
Marion Jones. The 1997 Track and Field News Female Athlete of the
Year was a double gold medalist at the 1997 World Championships,
winning both the 100 and 200 meter events. She was the California
women’s Athlete of the Year in 1991 and 1992, as she starred for
Thousand Oaks High School and competed in the Mt. SAC Relays as a
high school athlete.
* * *
The Bruins take their act on the road this weekend. The team
will split squads and send athletes to the Penn Relays in
Philadelphia and the Cal-Nevada Collegiate Championships in
Fresno.
DERRICK KUDO/Daily Bruin
(Left to right) Christina Bowen, Melinda George and Kara Barnard
run the 1,500 meters.