By Christina Teller and Will
Whitehorn
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
WALNUT, Calif. “”mdash; The marks just keep on coming for the
UCLA women’s track and field team, with three more athletes
now sitting on the qualifying list for nationals.
It was the 800-meter runners who lit up the track at Mt. SAC on
both Saturday and Sunday.
Sophomores Tiffany Burgess and Jessica Marr and senior Bridie
Hatch notched the top three collegiate marks in the University/Open
competition on Saturday.
Burgess won her heat with a provisionally qualifying time of 2
minutes, 7.46 seconds, while Hatch and Marr placed first and second
in their heat with times of 2:07.54 and 2:08.50, respectively.
“I’ve never been that proud of a group of
kids,” said distance coach Eric Peterson after the race.
“They’re capable of being the top kids in America, and
to get there, from here on out I’m going to have to be
critical.”
Junior Ysanne Williams competed in the Invitational division of
the 800m on Sunday, and ran a fifth-place time of 2:05:51 to
automatically qualify for the national meet.
“I’m just now learning to run the 800m properly.
It’s all about position,” Williams said. “I just
have to work hard and not second-guess my decisions in the
race.”
Assistant distance coach Helen Rehman-Winters was pleased with
Williams’ mark.
“At this time of the year you have to be able to
experience running at that pace for that long, and know what it
feels like before you can move to that next level,” she
said.
Senior Michelle Perry is ready for that next level as well. She
only recently undertook the challenge of the heptathlon, but Perry
automatically qualified Friday for the national meet with her
performances at the Mt. SAC Heptathlon competition held at Azusa
Pacific University.
Perry surpassed the prerequisite 5,500-point mark with a score
of 5,657, netting a third-place finish after relinquishing her
second-place standing in Thursday’s events, including a
second-best mark for the day of 13.72 seconds in the 200m
hurdles.
Perry finished Friday’s events with marks of 6.14m in the
long jump, a throw of 36.49m in the javelin and a time of 2:37.84
in the 800m to become the first collegiate competitor in the event
to qualify. Perry is the first Bruin to qualify since Shelia
Burrell in 1995.
The throwers also made their marks this weekend.
According to throwing coach Art Venegas, senior Christina Tolson
had an incredible performance in the hammer throw, dominating the
competition with her first-place throw and new Pac-10 record of 214
feet, 6 inches. Sophomore Cari Soong, who is redshirting the
outdoor season, also fared well in the event, throwing 210-9 to
finish second.
On Sunday, in the Invitational section of the shot put, Tolson
and junior Chaniqua Ross finished fourth and fifth in the shot put,
respectively. Tolson’s toss of 57-2 and Ross’ hurl of
54-3 3/4 were both season bests.
Ross also competed at the Antelope Valley Throwers meet, where
her 171-9 throw won her the collegiate competition. Freshman Lara
Saye finished fifth with 150-9.
Junior Tracy O’Hara finished the Invitational pole
vaulting competition with a fourth place finish, clearing the bar
at 13-1 3/4. In the University/Open division, senior Erika Hoernig
took first place at 13-1 3/4, while sophomore Karen Bewley reached
a career best of 12-6.