By Moin Salahuddin
Daily Bruin Staff
The grueling six months of training have finally culminated with
the UCLA men’s track and field team’s ultimate goal
““ winning the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Hosted by Duke University in Durham, N.C., the championship meet
in which the Bruins have been a perennial powerhouse concludes
Saturday.
But the end of this season is much more special than any other
in UCLA history. Former head coach and current assistant coach Bob
Larsen will be coaching his final meet for the Bruins after 21
years with the program. Larsen is a four-time NCAA Coach of the
Year.
“We definitely want to send Coach Larsen out on a high
note,” said All-American Jess Strutzel, who is one of four
UCLA athletes travelling to the meet.
Leading the smallest Bruin contingent in 15 years, Strutzel is
favored to win the 800 meter title and garner important points in
the team standings.
After capturing the NCAA Indoor title in Arkansas earlier this
season, the senior has already run a nation-leading 1:46.03. The
only other athlete within a second of Strutzel is Brown’s
Trinity Gray, who has posted a 1:46.07.
“Strutzel is our superstar athlete,” Bruin head
coach Art Venegas said.
Along with Gray, Strutzel’s toughest competition should
come from defending NCAA Outdoor champion Derrick Peterson.
“Jess will probably take the pace out hard through 600
meters and see who can hang on,” Larsen said. “If it
comes down to who has grit, Jess should win it.”
Fellow Bruin senior Brian McLaughlin accompanied Strutzel to the
NCAA Indoors and will join his teammate once again in North
Carolina.
The UCLA pole vaulter placed fourth at the Indoor meet with a
personal-best clearance of 18 and a half feet. McLaughlin owns the
No. 19 mark on the collegiate outdoor chart at 17-9.
“It’s been a dream of mine to compete for an NCAA
title,” McLaughlin said.
Venegas added that McLaughlin might surprise everyone by being
ranked so low entering the event.
“He’s improved more than anyone else on our
squad,” Venegas said.
“I’m looking to clear 18 feet and hopefully match
the performance I had out in Arkansas,” said McLaughlin, who
is only the fourth Bruin ever to clear that height.
Following in the footsteps of former NCAA Champion Brian Fell,
junior John Hall will compete in the 400 meter intermediate
hurdles.
Hall’s mark of 50.48 put him in the top 10 on UCLA’s
all-time list and ranks him 15th in the collegiate field. Trojan
Felix Sanchez ran a blistering 48.86 to lead the collegiate
charts.
“It’s been amazing to see his progress,” Fell
said of Hall. “He will definitely surprise some
people.”
Rounding out the Bruin contingent is sophomore thrower Scott
Moser. As a redshirt freshman last season, Moser placed 14th in the
shot put in Idaho.
Moser will instead compete in the discus, where his
196-foot-1-inch effort ranks 15th nationally.
“Scott has been our best thrower this year,” said
Venegas, who is also UCLA’s throwing coach. “This big
meet will provide him a lot of valuable experience.”
The Bruins tied for 16th overall at the 1999 NCAA Championship
meet in Boise, Idaho, and would have to get huge performances to
improve upon this mark as a team.
Leading last year’s squad was the 1600-meter relay
consisting of current Bruin seniors Michael Granville, Terrence
Williams, and Malachi Davis, who failed to qualify this year for
the event.
“We might not have as many athletes as we have in the
past,” Venegas said. “But we will definitely show
everyone how strong UCLA is.”