Thursday, May 21, 1998
Bruins land on both feet over weekend
NOTEBOOK: Despite bad weather, UCLA finishes with stellar
performances at various meets
By Donald Morrison
Daily Bruin Contributor
While most of the No. 8 men’s track team took last weekend off
to rest in preparation for the Pacific 10 Championships, a few
athletes competed and put together some impressive marks.
The most notable performance belonged to star distance runner
Mebrahtom Keflezighi. At the Oregon Twilight Classic Friday in
Eugene, Keflezighi ran the mile, with hopes of breaking the
four-minute barrier.
Keflezighi, running in cold, dismal weather at the University of
Oregon, finished second in 4 minutes, 2.86 seconds. The temperature
when Keflezighi raced at 8:30 p.m. was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit,
according to UCLA head coach Bob Larsen. The inside lane was wet
due to rain, and that affected the runners’ times.
"(Keflezighi) looked strong," Larsen said. "The pace wasn’t fast
and he was cold. It was a good performance."
Keflezighi led halfway through the race, and had an 800-meter
split time of 2:01. The pace was supposed to be faster for the
athletes, but the rabbit, who was supposed to lead the pack of
runners through 800 meters at 1:58, dropped out after running about
600 meters.
Ian Gillespie, a British athlete, won the race in 4:01.84,
outsprinting Keflezighi to the finish line for the win.
A group of athletes stayed in Southern California over the
weekend, and competed at the Cal State Los Angeles Invitational.
Luke Sullivan continues to impress, finishing second in the hammer
throw with a mark of 208 feet, 6 inches.
Wade Tift placed eighth in the event at 56.06 meters, or roughly
183-10.
Other Bruins also came through with solid performances over the
weekend. Freshman football player Ed Stansbury placed sixth in the
discus with a throw of 168-6. High jumper Giovanni Morales finished
seventh at the meet, with a leap of 6-4.
Sprinters Brandon Thomas and Jacob Glickman ran both the 100 and
200 meters. Thomas and Glickman finished second and third,
respectively, in their heat with times of 10.73 and 10.87 seconds.
The duo also finished second and third in their heat in the 200.
Both Thomas and Glickman ran identical times of 21.75 seconds.
UCLA runners aren’t completely at ease going into this weekend,
however, due to the loss of a few key sprinters to injury.
Out for the Pac-10 Championships this weekend will be freshman
sprinter Bryan Harrison. Harrison injured his hamstring during the
400-meter relay against USC and BYU in early May.
Akil Davis, a strong starter for the team’s 400-meter relay, is
also out due to hamstring problems. Randy Brookes has been out for
the Bruins with hamstring problems, and will redshirt this year.
Brookes has a lifetime best of 10.44 seconds in the 100 meters.
Despite injuries, Coach Larsen still feels that the Bruin squad
will do well at the Pac-10 Championships this weekend at Stanford.
The Cardinal will host the conference championships for the first
time since 1981. At that conference meet, Arizona State won the
men’s team title.
Last year’s meet was held in Husky Stadium at the University of
Washington. Next year’s meet will be held in Tempe, Ariz. at
Arizona State. UCLA, which hosted the meet in 1996, has to wait
until 2005 to host another Pac-10 Championship meet.
UCLA has won five of the last six titles, and eight of the past
11. USC won the meet last year with 145 points, while the Bruins
finished a close second with 138 points.
* * *
Former Bruin and world-class sprinter Ato Bolden did not break
the world record in the 100 meters two weeks ago in his home
country of Trinidad.
Bolden crossed the line in 10 seconds flat in cold, rainy
weather.
Assistant UCLA coach John Smith, who continues to train Bolden,
said last week that Bolden looked impressive and had a good mark
despite the poor conditions. Racing against Bolden, the 1997 200-
meter World Champion was American sprinter Dennis Mitchell.
Mitchell placed third in the 100 meters at the 1992 Olympic
games.
* * *
In Salinas, Calif., on Tuesday, Seliala Sua posted a solid mark
in what was otherwise an unremarkable meet for the UCLA throwers.
In the shotput, Sua threw a 57-9, a personal best.
The throw ranks her third in UCLA history, and also third in
Pac-10 history.
However, the meet was not NCAA certified, so the mark, though
recognized by USA Track and Field, will not be recognized by the
NCAA.
DERRICK KUDO/Daily Bruin
Senior Rich Pitchford hopes to jump over the competition at the
Pac-10s this weekend.