MARY CIECEK/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Junior thrower
Scott Moser will compete in the discus and shot
put at NCAAs this week. Qualifiers for Men’s NCAA
Championship Dan Ames (freshman)-shot
put, discus Kyle Erickson (sophomore)-400m hurdles
Yoo Kim (freshman)-pole vault Mate
Marum(sophomore)-javelin Scott Moser
(junior)-shot put, discus
By Glen Worthington
Daily Bruin Contributor
The NCAA Championship meet is the true test of a college’s
track and field program. Dual meets and even conference
championships do not compare. When only the top college athletes in
the nation are accepted for each event, it takes a lot more than
luck to score points. You have to be the best.
“We’ve been a competitive team, a great dual meet
team every year, and we’re usually very competitive in the
Pac-10 if not outright Pac-10 champions,” men’s Head
Coach Art Venegas said. “But the national level is about the
bigger points. My concept is that I’m not into the dual meets
or the Pac-10s; I’m into the nationals. So that’s what
I’m trying to build for right now.
“But no matter how badly I want it, it’s not going
to happen by me willing it,” he added. “I have to get
the right people to come to UCLA.”
UCLA has a rich history of NCAA competition, including eight
outdoor titles.
The last Bruin championships were back-to-back wins in 1987 and
1988.
1995-97, the Bruins placed second, third, then tied for fourth.
Sydney Olympic medalist Ato Boldon (Trinidad, 100-meter, 200m), as
well as Olympic participants John Godina (shot put) and American
10,000m record-holder Meb Keflezighi put up most of the points for
UCLA’s mid-’90s championship runs.
Together the three athletes combined for seven NCAA titles.
No Bruins on the current squad have reached that level of
domination yet.
With names like Dan Ames in the throws, Yoo Kim in the pole
vault, Oliver Jackson and Juaune Armon in the jumps, and Rodney
Diggs, Charles Ryan, Denye Versher and Warren Rogers in the
sprints, the pieces for another NCAA run are in the works. All
these athletes contributed Pac-10 points this year and all are
freshmen.
But this is not the year of the Bruin.
UCLA is only sending five athletes to Eugene, Ore. for the NCAA
Championships, one more athlete than last year. The Bruins
aren’t expected to pick up many points, but the experience is
what counts.
“Next year we’ll probably take 12 or 13,”
Venegas predicted. “And that’s when we start becoming a
powerhouse again.
“(The team) knows what’s being left home; they know
how much talent we have and that (the team) doesn’t have the
maturity yet. And they know how quickly the maturity will
come,” he continued. “Once you start having 12-14
qualifiers, that’s when you start making noise at that
meet.”
With such a small contingent this year, team spirit is difficult
to create. Venegas points out, however, that track is a highly
individualized sport. Although the Bruins would love to be
competing for a team title, they are still highly motivated to do
their individual bests.
Moser is the only traveling Bruin with experience at the NCAA
Outdoor Championships. He was 14th in the shot put in 1999 and 17th
in the discus last year.
He also is the only Bruin with a legitimate shot at an NCAA
title. Coming off his Pac-10 discus title, he is ranked third for
the weekend’s competition.
But it takes a large team contingent to win the team
championship.
In past Bruin victories, UCLA has placed in about 10 different
events.
Balance is key, and this year’s track team is one of the
most balanced in the nation. At the Pac-10 championships UCLA was
the only team to place in 17 of 21 events. Their national power
ranking of third in the nation reflects that. Power rankings rate a
team’s dual meet strength, thus taking into account depth in
all events, a statistic not reflected in national rankings.
The balance is there; now all it takes is a little more
experience.
“Track teams don’t become great over night because
of the maturity factor and the scoring,” Venegas said.
“Track is not a thing where you suddenly get lucky. You
either have enough points or you don’t.
“It’s been a few years since we’ve had a
national top-end team,” he continued. “That’s
been my goal, to bring that as far back as I can. We’re going
to keep building the program up every year, just keep getting a
little bit stronger.”
Expect another Bruin NCAA championship run soon. Not this year,
but it’s coming.