By J.P. Hoornstra
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The second of three acts in the Bruins’ track season is
coming to Drake stadium and Chuckie Ryan is getting ready to show
off. The Bruins are preparing for their second act in front of the
home audience.
“The more people at the meet, the better I compete,”
Ryan said. “I’m a show-off.”
Led by Ryan on the men’s side, the Pac-10 Track and Field
men’s track athlete of the week, UCLA returns to Drake
Stadium, competing against BYU and Cal State Northridge.
“I didn’t really expect any kind of award,” he
said. “This week I can just relax and just run and I know my
time will drop.”
Both the men’s and women’s squads helped Team
California win meet titles at the California/Arizona Challenge in
blustery Flagstaff, Ariz. last week, but are looking forward to
competing at home.
On the women’s side, hammer thrower Cari Soong brings the
momentum from an automatic-qualifying performance in Arizona. Using
the wind to her advantage, Soong threw the hammer 209′
10″, second in the nation this year.
Not everyone warmed up to the gusty conditions.
“Throwing into a 40-mph wind didn’t really carry the
javelin that well,” said Karina Powell, who was still able to
toss the javelin 128′ 7″, good enough for third place
at the California/Arizona Challenge.
“If it’s nice and warm, everything goes a lot better
than if it’s cold, rainy and you have to worry about staying
warm and staying loose. It’s a better environment to throw in
L.A.”
Pole vaulter Pat Luke agrees. “It’s always nice to
have a home crowd,” he said. “When you know people up
in the stands, it’s really cool to have them cheering you
on.”
Luke has managed to increase his personal-record pole vault
height by more than 5 inches this year, offsetting the absence of
injured star Yoo Kim. Kim is still nursing a hamstring injury and
men’s head coach Art Venegas does not expect him to compete
until the Mount SAC relays of April 14-21, at the earliest.
Events begin with the women’s hammer throw at 9 a.m. and
end with the men’s 4×400-meter relays at 4 p.m.