By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It was the final weekend to qualify. With only one race left to
get in the top 15, a group of UCLA track and field athletes headed
to Iowa in search of a qualifying time for the NCAA
Championships.
And they did it.
Freshman Ysanne Williams, who was on the bubble in the 800-meter
race, notched the 13th best time in the nation of 2:07.4, in a race
that was not the best tactically but showed her strength as a
competitor.
According to Distance Coach Eric Peterson, when Williams hit the
400m mark, she was trapped in a box behind the leader and with two
others on her side. The race had been kept at a fairly slow pace,
indicating that the competitors would finish with a strong sprint.
But Williams fought out of the box and kicked well at the end to
finish second.
“To fight in indoor track like that really shows how tough
she is,” Peterson said. “She is a tremendous
competitor.”
Senior Shakedia Jones notched the 10th best time in the nation
of 7.34 in the 60m dash. At the start of the indoor season, Jones
and women’s Head Coach Jeanette Bolden had discussed that she
wouldn’t compete until outdoors. Slightly injured, Jones took
a break after being part of the U.S. 4×100 team’s pool at the
Sydney Olympics.
But after recuperating from shin-splints, Jones came to Iowa and
ran a first-place time of 7.34 in the finals. Jones’ time
last season was a 7.37, and she had had more preparation then.
“It really shows that the strength work is going to
contribute to her having a great season this year,” Bolden
said. “She’s a great competitor.”
On the men’s side, senior pole vaulter Steve Michaels was
also able to qualify for nationals with his jump of 5.31m.
UCLA will now send 14 athletes to nationals, three men and 11
women.
The Bruins also had strong showings across the board at the USA
Indoor Championships with senior Christina Tolson as the dominant
UCLA performer. Tolson finished third in both the shot put (56
feet, 4 3/4 inches) and weight throw (65-5) competitions.
Tolson attributed her success to being relaxed during
competition.
“I went in there thinking that I’m going to treat
this as a practice in terms of being relaxed but with more
enthusiasm,” Tolson explained. “I did and got a good
result out of it.”
The Bruins who competed at the USAs were up against the
nation’s elite. Part of the reason Tolson was able to relax
is because there’s not as much pressure at this kind of
meet.
“The pressure is off in a way. It’s totally
different than nationals because you kind of look up to them (the
senior athletes),” Tolson explained.
And when it counts next weekend, Tolson plans to keep with her
same game plan.
“You still need to be as relaxed,” she said.
Also placing well at USAs were junior pole vaulter Tracy
O’Hara, who finished fifth (13-3 3/4), and shotputters
freshman Jessica Cosby and junior Chaniqua Ross, who finished fifth
(52-7 1/2) and seventh (51-10 1/2), respectively. For the men,
junior Scott Moser finished sixth in the shot put (59-7 3/4).
The Bruins also opened their outdoor season over the weekend at
the UC Invitational, with the men’s squad taking first in the
meet and the women finishing fourth.
Though the women finished fourth, the meet featured a breakout
performance from sophomore Lena Nilsson in the 800m. Nilsson had
not competed in almost a year but dominated the race finishing in
2:09.87. She came in eight seconds ahead of the next runner even
though she didn’t take the lead until 350m into the race.
“Her second lap was impressive,” Peterson said.
“She was very aggressive and running with confidence.
We’ve been waiting for a long time to get her going hard.
“We don’t have another person dedicated to her team
like she is,” Peterson added.
With the Bruin men winning 11 of the 19 events at the UC Invite,
the men showed their well-roundedness.
The Bruins had strong performances from freshman Chucky Ryan,
first in the 110m high hurdles (14.29) and third in the 400m
hurdles (54.43), as well as freshman Kyle Erickson, second in the
110 high hurdles (14.70) and first in the 400m hurdles (52.48).
“We had some good performances,” men’s Head
Coach Art Venegas said, “particularly Chucky Ryan’s
opener.”