Tuesday, May 12, 1998
Team hones skills to go the distance for Pac-10
MEN’S TRACK: Sprinters cruised to good times as vaulters soared
high at Modesto
By Donald Morrison
Daily Bruin Contributor
The No. 8 UCLA men’s track team began its fine-tuning for the
upcoming Pac-10 Championships last weekend.
The Bruin squad split up and sent sprinters and field athletes
to the Modesto Invitational, while a few distance runners stayed in
Southern California to compete at the Occidental Invitational.
In Modesto, the sprinters showed that they are going to give
Pac-10 foes a rough time in two weeks.
The biggest highlight for the Bruin sprinters came when Damian
Allen ran a blazing 10.43 seconds in the invitational 100-meters.
Allen’s time places him in the top five in the Pac-10 and is also a
personal record.
Brandon Thomas and Jacob Glickman also turned in solid
performances. Glickman placed third in the University Open
100-meter final in 10.62 seconds. Thomas finished right behind
Glickman in the same race, running 10.69 seconds. Jim McElroy
didn’t qualify for the finals, but did run 10.68 seconds in the
preliminary round.
"The sprinters looked decent," UCLA assistant coach Art Venegas
said. "They’re starting to come together. They looked sharp in the
100’s."
Gerimi Burleigh won the 100-meter hurdles in a solid time of
14.41 seconds. Venegas said that Burleigh ran a strong race and
needed a win under his belt.
In the invitational shot put competition, Travis Haynes placed
third with a mark of 61 feet, 10 inches. Wade Tift finished right
behind him in fourth place, throwing 59-3 1/2.
"Haynes had a really outstanding mark," Venegas said. "He was
struggling for a few weeks, but now is starting to look good."
Luke Sullivan threw the discus 189 feet to finish fifth, and
Haynes threw 185 feet to place eighth.
The Modesto winds were not what the pole vaulters expected.
Scott Slover no-heighted, and Steven Michaels vaulted 16-6 to
finish 11th.
The Occidental Invite produced some fine results for the
distance runners. Mark Hauser set a personal record in the
800-meters, running 1 minute, 48.52 seconds. Hauser placed second
in the second heat.
Michael Granville ran 1:48 in the first heat of the 800 meters
and finished fifth. Granville competed against a good field,
including 1992 Olympic bronze medalist Johnny Gray.
Matt Olin set a personal record in the 1,500-meters when he
crossed the finish line in 3:53. Will Bernaldo also set a lifetime
best in the same race, running a 3:58.84.
"Overall, it was a good meet for the distance runners," UCLA
head coach Bob Larsen said. "We were going for times and not for
places."
DERRICK KUDO/Daily Bruin
Senior Gerimi Burleigh leaps a hurdle at UCLA’s last home
meet.