Monday, June 8, 1998
Longhorns charge Bruins, steal crown
CHAMPIONSHIP: UCLA stunned as Texas rallies from late 30-point
deficit
By Alvin Cadman
Daily Bruin Contributor
The past three days in the sports world have had their share of
close finishes and memorable moments. On Friday, the Chicago Bulls
narrowly beat out the Utah Jazz to steal Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
On Saturday, Victory Gallop won the Belmont Stakes in a photo
finish over the favorite Real Quiet. Finally, Saturday evening, the
Lady Longhorns took the 1998 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field
Championships in Buffalo N.Y., while UCLA could only sit and
watch.
The victory by Texas completed a track and field sweep for the
Lady Longhorns in the 1998 and ended a Louisiana State’s bid at an
11th title in 12 years. This is the second national outdoor
championship for Texas, who last won the title in 1986.
The UCLA women’s track team had been atop the leader board
throughout the entire meet and entered Saturday’s competition to
win what would have been their fourth national championship and
third NCAA Outdoor track title.
The Lady Longhorns had trailed by 30 points entering the final
day of competition. Texas began a rally throughout the afternoon
and trailed by just five points entering the final event, the
1,600-meter relay. They proceeded to win the event and collected 10
points. All Bruin head coach Jeanette Bolden, and the rest of UCLA,
could do was helplessly watch.
"We needed to have a really big day," Bolden said. "It’s hard to
win when you don’t have a mile relay."
The running of freshman Shakedia Jones kept UCLA’s championship
hopes alive. After sustaining a leg injury during the 100-meter
final on Saturday, Jones showed the determination to capture a
second place finish in the 100-meters with a time of 11.15 seconds.
This was four hundredths of a second off her seasonal best and NCAA
automatic qualifying time.
Torri Edwards finished third for Southern California with a time
of 11.18 seconds. LaKeisha Backus of Texas crossed the finish line
in 11.31 seconds to take fifth place.
Jones would go on to compete in the 200-meter sprint final and
place third with a time of 22.97 seconds. Edwards of USC finished
sixth with a time of 23.24 seconds. Backus of Texas took seventh
with a clocking of 23.31 seconds.
Jones’ integral role on Saturday is displayed in the fact that
she accumulated 14 of the Bruin’s 15 points on Saturday
afternoon.
Georgia’s Debbie Ferguson completed a sweep of the women’s 100
and 200-meter sprint finals with times of 10.94 (wind-aided) and
22.66 seconds, respectively.
The late charge by the Lady Longhorns on Saturday to capture the
national title over the Bruins was led by the instrumental
performance of Suziann Reid.
Reid was victorious in the women’s 400-meters with a time of
51.22 seconds and was one of the legs on the winning 1,600-meter
relay team that clocked in at 3:28.65. This proved to be the vital
and title-clinching points for Texas.
"I really wanted to win this one," Reid said on Saturday. "I
have a No. 1 ranking in the 400 (among collegians) and I wanted to
show that that’s the truth. I am the truth."
UCLA junior Joanna Hayes finished eighth in the final of the
women’s 100-meter hurdles on Saturday with a time of 13.50 seconds.
Angie Vaughn of Texas took the event victory with a wind-aided time
of 12.82.
The injury to Hayes at the Pac-10 Championships two weeks ago
had a profound effect on the outcome of the NCAA Outdoors. She was
held out of the 400-meter hurdle event, which was to be a
guaranteed top five finish in the final for the Bruins.
In the women’s hammer throw, Lisa Misipeka of South Carolina
launched a 209-4 throw to upset Amy Palmer of Brigham Young, who
threw a 208-3 and is the current American record holder in the
event. UCLA senior Rachelle Noble placed tenth with a throw of
189-0.
In the women’s javelin, senior Suzy Powell placed eighth with a
throw of 170-7 to capture a team point for the Bruins. Noble placed
17th with a throw of 157-8.
Sophomore Deana Simmons placed fourth in the women’s triple jump
with a mark of 43-3 to earn five team points.
The final team standings for the meet have Texas finishing first
with 60 points. UCLA finishes as the runner-up with 55 team points.
Southern Methodist and Brigham Young were tied for third with 45
points each. Southern California rounds out the top five with 35
total team points.