KEITH ENRIQUEZ/Daily Bruin Senior Staff (left to right)
Adia McKinnon, Sheena Johnson, Sani Roseby and Nicole Gaskins have
helped put UCLA in contention for a title.
By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The four freshmen line up off to the side of the track for the
photo. They are reserved at first, not really knowing what is
expected of them in the 10-minute photo shoot, but once
they’re told to “look hard,” the smiles break
out.
Through the next few minutes, the photographer shoots away,
interrupted only by Sheena Johnson, who just can’t keep a
straight face.
To their relief they are told that they can smile now and pose
any way they want. And the playful bickering begins. After much
discussion and positioning, the girls settle into a pose where two
of them are standing and two are kneeling.
The picture of Nicole Gaskins, Adia McKinnon, Sani Roseby and
Johnson captures much of the driving force of the UCLA 2001
national squad.
They entered UCLA as members of the consensus No. 1 recruiting
class, with state, national, and even some Olympic Trials
experience.
“Coming out of high school, we were all at the top and had
the ability to come in and really make an impact on the national
level,” Johnson said. “There’s a little bit of
pressure from the coaches ““ they expect us to do a lot
““ but I think we expect ourselves to do a lot
more.”
Going into nationals, the freshmen all bring big-meet
experience, but the one in Eugene will be different.
“When I went to the big meets (in high school), it was
just me, and I just focused on what I was doing because I was the
only person there on my team,” Roseby said. “In college
it’s more team-based. You’re helping out your other
teammates and they’re counting on you to perform well as well
as you’re counting on yourself.”
With an outlook like that, it’s easy to see why the UCLA
relays are in such good position this year. The Bruin 4 x 100-meter
and the 4 x 400m relay teams both sit in fifth.
The freshmen occupy five of the eight spots on the two relay
teams, with Johnson and McKinnon running in both, Roseby leading
off in the 4 x 100m relay, and Gaskins ready as an alternate for
both relays.
Roseby has held her own in the first leg of the 4 x 100m against
such competition as USC’s Angela Williams, the two-time
defending NCAA 100m champion.
“She’s running against Angela Williams, and Sani is
not allowing her to get away from her, and Angela is not passing
her,” Bolden said of past competition against USC. “(As
the leadoff) you have to get out there. You’re the catalyst
of this team. If you don’t run a fantastic first leg, (it)
affects everyone else.”
The determination displayed by Roseby in the 4 x 100m has been
shown by all four of the freshmen from day one.
On the first day of practice, the foursome walked onto the track
and wasted no time.
“They weren’t even close to being intimidated behind
the accolades of the seniors and juniors,” Bolden said.
“(The freshmen) were working hard from beginning and the
other girls, who were already working hard, had to step it
up.”
Bolden refers to them as “her young ones” and even
admits to coddling them.
But with the talent between the four of them, including two
Pac-10 titles from Johnson and McKinnon in the 400m hurdles and
400m, respectively, and with each having at least three years of
competition ahead of them, Bolden has every reason to pay extra
attention to her freshman.
Entering the NCAA Championships, Johnson is No. 1 in the 400m
hurdles (56.02 seconds), McKinnon is No. 9 in the 400m (52.69 ) and
Roseby is No. 22 in the 100m hurdles (13.40). It is unlikely that
Gaskins will compete in the relays this week, but she filled in for
senior Michelle Perry at the Penn Relays when Perry got food
poisoning, so she has to be prepared.
After talking to the freshman quartet, it’s obvious that
they know what they must do this week.
With the exception of Johnson, who leads her event, the athletes
want to walk away in a better position than where they came in.
Though track and field is an individual sport, it takes a team
to win a national championship. And if it comes down to the
performances of these four, you can be sure they’ll give it
all they’ve got.