Wednesday, June 3, 1998
It’s full steam ahead for UCLA’s athletes
M. TRACK Bruins look to place in top five at NCAA
championships
By Donald Morrison
Daily Bruin Contributor
The biggest collegiate track and field meet returns. The NCAA
Championships in Buffalo, N.Y. get underway today and 13 members of
the No. 7 UCLA men’s track team will have four days to showcase
their talent to the entire nation.
The competing members enter the meet on a high note after
contributing to the sixth Pac-10 title in seven years a week and
half ago. With the conference title under UCLA’s belt, the Bruins
are now looking to place in the top five at the NCAA
Championships.
"I’m optimistic we’ll have a really good meet," UCLA head coach
Bob Larsen said. "The guys had a heck of an effort at the Pac-10
meet. It’ll be very tough, but I think we’ll do well."
Arkansas is the favorite to win its seventh straight team title,
as they enter the meet ranked first by Trackwire. The Razorbacks
will be chased by a tough Arizona team. The Wildcats are ranked
second in the nation after placing third at the Pac-10 meet.
Larsen said the Wildcats have a chance to upset Arkansas with
solid performances from its athletes.
Six of UCLA’s 13 athletes have NCAA Championship experience.
UCLA distance runner, Mebrahtom Keflezighi, is no stranger to
NCAA Championship meets.
The senior will compete in his 10th NCAA Championship.
Keflezighi competed in four NCAA cross country meets, two indoor
track championships, and now will run in his fourth outdoor track
championship.
Keflezighi, a four-time NCAA champion, will try for his fifth
and sixth individual titles on Thursday and Saturday.
Keflezighi will attempt to do something no other athlete has
done – win back-to back 5,000- and 10,000-meter titles. Last year,
Keflezighi became the first runner since Ed Eyestone of BYU in 1985
to win the 5,000- and 10,000-meter titles. Keflezighi is trying to
win, arguably, the hardest double in track and field for the second
consecutive year.
"A lot of people can’t do that double," Larsen said. "You can’t
count (Keflezighi) out. He’s feeling good and ready to go."
Keflezighi leads the nation in the 5,000 meters by five seconds,
over Stanford’s Brad Hauser.
Adam Goucher of Colorado is the favorite to win the 5,000-meter
race despite having the seventh best outdoor time this year.
Even though Keflezighi set the school record in the 10,000
meters at 28 minutes, 16.79 seconds he didn’t not win a
10,000-meter race this year. Keflezighi is second in the nation to
Hauser from Stanford.
Competing today in finals will be senior All-Americans Josh
Johnson and Scott Slover. Both athletes should place in the top
eight and score points for UCLA.
Slover, who suffered a hamstring injury at last year’s outdoor
championship, will return and attempt to become only the fourth
Bruin to win a pole vault title.
He is second in the nation with a vault of 18 feet, 6 1/2
inches. Texas’ Jacob Davis leads the nation with a vault of 19-4
1/4. Slover can wrap up an NCAA Championship in such an
unpredictable event.
"If Slover has the right vault at the right time, anything can
happen," Larsen said. "There’s at least five vaulters that can win
and Slover is among that group."
Johnson is ranked eighth in the javelin with a personal best
throw of 236-10. He will need a huge meet to place in the top
three.
"He’s capable of a huge throw," Larsen said of Johnson. "Johnson
is a good, solid competitor."
The throwers will throw some points for UCLA. Luke Sullivan,
Travis Haynes and Wade Tift are ready to compete.
Sullivan will receive stiff competition in the discus. Sullivan
enters competition ranked fifth in the nation at 197 feet. The four
athletes ahead of him are all from the Pac-10, including Doug
Reynolds and Chima Ugwu from Arizona.
Haynes and Tift need seasonal best efforts if they want to place
in the top eighth for UCLA.
Haynes is ranked ninth and Tift is ranked 11th in the
nation.
Mel Moultry will compete in his first ever NCAA outdoor
championships. Moultry, the 1998 Pac-10 champ in the triple jump,
is ranked 10th with a leap of 53-1 1/2. Moultry said last week that
he will feel no pressure at the NCAA championships.
Jess Strutzel and Mark Hauser will be the other individual
competing. Strutzel will run the 800 meters after finishing third
in the Pac-10 championships.
Hauser will run the 5,000-meter race along with Keflezighi.
Larsen says that Hauser’s leg speed will be an advantage for him if
the pace is right.
"If it’s a tactical race, favor (Hauser) to score because he’s
around at the end of the race," Larsen said. "He finishes
well."
UCLA will send a 400-meter relay team to the championships. The
Bruins wrapped up a qualifying spot at the Pac-10
championships.
Their Pac-10 winning time of 39.52 seconds earned them a berth
at the championships.
The team will consist of Brian Fell, Brandon Thomas, Damian
Allen and Jim McElroy. Fell will run only his third 400-meter
relay. Larsen feels the relay team will do well.
"I think they’ll score," Larsen said. "They need to draw a good
lane. It’ll be interesting to see how the team will do."