NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Sophomore Jack
Clamon heaves the shot at USC Saturday. The Bruins lost to
the Trojans by one point. USC 82 UCLA 81
By Glen Worthington
Daily Bruin Contributor
A rivalry like this sets up breakthrough performances and
heartbreaking errors. Some falter while others steal a momentary
spotlight. Unfortunately for the UCLA men’s track team, 22
years of glory came to an end on Saturday.
In a meet where every point counted, where every step and every
inch mattered, the USC Trojans defeated the UCLA Bruins 82-81 at
USC’s Loker Stadium for the first time in more than two
decades.
After the meet, men’s Head Coach Art Venegas urged his
team to put the loss behind them. He also added a challenge.
“Let’s hurt them in the Pac-10s,” he said.
With 19 closely contested events, it is impossible to point to
any single reason for UCLA’s loss. However, two images stand
out as the big “what ifs”: junior Michael Lipscomb
taking off too early in the 4 x 100-meter relay and sophomore Kyle
Erickson falling over the tenth and final hurdle in the 400m
hurdles.
The 4 x 100m relay was no definite victory. USC’s winning
time of 39.98 seconds was formidable. But UCLA was within striking
distance before the baton dropped. Freshman Warren Rogers lunged
forward, but the baton and Lipscomb’s hand did not
connect.
“I thought we could win that relay,” said
men’s sprint coach John Smith. “And I think the meet
would have been turned around. But that’s how it goes. You
plan for victory and the other team makes sure you don’t get
there.”
Erickson was on his way to breaking his own conference-leading
mark in the 400m hurdles with a commanding lead over USC junior
Ryan Wilson. On the final hurdle of the final straightaway,
Erickson caught his toe and landed sprawled on the track. A fall
like that physically hurts, but the mental disappointment is much
worse. Instead of a 6-3 UCLA finish, USC took the points in the
event 5-4.
To their credit, both Lipscomb and Erickson rebounded with
excellent results later in the day.
In the 200m dash, Lipscomb came out of nowhere to win the event
over three of the top sprinters in the Pac-10. This was a huge
shock for the Trojans, who had earlier swept the 100m dash and
hoped to at least finish 1-2 in the other sprint. Lipscomb ran a
huge 20.87, breaking his old personal record by more than
three-tenths of a second ““ an eternity in a race won by
eight-hundredths.
Erickson ran a strong second leg and Lipscomb a great anchor leg
of the Bruin 4 x 400m, which set a new season best for the third
week in a row (rounding out the team were freshmen Rodney Diggs and
Denye Versher). UCLA’s winning time of 3 minutes, 8.03
seconds stunned a favored USC relay team.
The relay was the last event of the day, and the Bruins’
win pulled them within one point, but it was too little, too
late.
The hero of the meet was USC sophomore walk-on Justin Neems who
placed third ““ yes, third ““ in the 5000m. It
wasn’t one of the top name sprinters or national-leader field
event athletes who won the meet; it was a third-place walk-on.
The clinching point came in the second-to-last event of the
day.
Going into the 5000m, the meet score was 81-68. All USC needed
was one point ““ 82 is the magic track dual meet number.
Needing a sweep to prevent that, UCLA senior Will Bernaldo, juniors
Bryan Green and Andrew Wulf, and freshman Jon Rankin took the track
against the Trojan squad.
Bernaldo was running fresh, and he easily won the event at
14:57.91. Green had set the pace in the 1500m race earlier before
dropping to fourth, but he came back strong to place second at
15:06.44. Rankin challenged for the third spot with a surge on the
final lap, but he kicked too late. Neems had firmly established
himself in third with a few laps to go. The Trojans won when Neems
crossed the finish line and earned the third place point.
“That’s what collegiate track and field is all
about,” said distance coach Eric Peterson. “It never
feels good to end up on the losing side, but losing provides some
wonderful coaching moments. I think it’s going to give our
team the opportunity to take a little gut check, ask themselves
some important questions we need answers to as a team, and
hopefully strengthen character so that we can approach the Pac-10
championships with a little stronger mind set than we had
today.”
No criticism can fall on Rankin, though. He proved himself early
in the day by winning the 1500m with a personal record, 3:49.08,
over USC junior Kevin Elliot. Elliot won the 800m (1:50.55) and
placed second in the 1500m (3:51.95). With 250 meters to go in the
race, he had a huge kick to pass two Bruins while moving from
fourth to second, though he fell short of Rankin. Elliot proved why
he is one of the best middle distance runners in the Pac-10.
Another defining moment for USC happened in the 3000m
steeplechase. Trojan sophomore Andrew Knutsen was vying with
UCLA’s Wulf for the lead on the second-to-last lap when he
fell over a barrier, allowing Wulf to take a commanding lead and
for UCLA senior Mason Moore to come from behind to take second
place.
Wulf won at 9:03.56 followed by Moore at 9:11.99. Knutsen got up
and fought to finish the race for the all-important third place
(9:19.09). As the final score proved, every point counted.
Drama occurred on the field as well. Bruin sophomore Nate Marum
came into the javelin third in the Pac-10. On paper, he should have
had an easy win. But on Saturday, paper times and distances meant
nothing.
In the final throws of the javelin, USC senior William
O’Grady threw a 206-foot-6-inch toss. That was the first time
he ever threw more than 200 feet, a personal record by more than 15
feet. UCLA needed Marum to step up and prove he was the best
javelin thrower on the field, and he did. Marum’s final throw
of 215-3 won the event, and Bruin fans sighed in relief early in
the day.
Despite the meet loss, UCLA had other standout performances.
Sophomore Josh Levy tied for second in the high jump at 6-8, just a
hair’s breadth from clearing the next height and taking
second.
“We got in there and competed real hard in the
jumps,” said men’s jump coach Monte Rucker. “We
just missed having some special things happen. We just missed
either by having a little bit of a foul or just brushing a bar down
in the high jump or just missing one point in technique.”
Two others set new personal records. Senior David Kurien earned
his third place in the triple jump with a 49-3 leap, a three-inch
best. Freshman pole vaulter Yoo Kim stole second place with a 17-0
vault, nearly three inches over his best.
As expected, UCLA dominated the throws, going 9-0 in both the
shot put and the discus. Redshirt freshman Dan Ames won the shot
put with a massive toss of 63-10, a personal best by almost three
feet. Junior Scott Moser took the discus at 198-3, but the real
story was sophomore Scott Wiegand, who placed third at 179-7
““ almost seven feet better than ever before.
This was a tough meet for UCLA. The young Bruin team had to face
a loud Trojan crowd and a capable Trojan squad. So much went right
and so little went wrong, but the wrongs were just enough to lose
the meet.
This meet was an emotional high in anticipation and an emotional
low in conclusion for UCLA, but the Bruins have to put all that
behind them and move on. The Pac-10s and NCAAs are calling.