Senior Andrew Wulf, right, elbows his
way past senior teammate Bryan Green in the 1500
meter run Saturday at Drake Stadium. Green won the race in a
near-personal record time of 3:51.05.
By Jeff Eisenberg
Daily Bruin Contributor
If coaches aren’t supposed to admit to paying attention to
where their teams are ranked in the polls, men’s track head
coach Art Venegas must not have gotten that memo. As the Bruins
ascended into the top 20 in the Trackwire National Top 25 for the
first time this season, Venegas checked off another milestone in
his quest to revive UCLA’s status as a national power.
“I pay a lot of attention to the rankings because my goal
is reaching the national level,” he said. “I am
enjoying these local championships we are winning, but those are
only temporary joys.”
Venegas will have a chance to see his top athletes face superior
competition at Sunday’s Mount SAC Relays, an invitational
event based on previous marks throughout the season.
“We’ve done well at Mount SAC in the past,”
said Venegas, who credits much of this season’s success to
the leadership of veterans Scott Moser and Michael Lipscomb.
“The key here is to keep everyone healthy no matter what
their times are. It’s just another meet on the way to the
Pac-10 Championships and Nationals.”
The injury bug has hit the Bruins hard already this season.
Distance runner Jon Rankin and pole vaulter Jared Drake will
redshirt this season with while pole vaulter Yoo Kim is hoping to
return from a hamstring injury in time to compete in the dual meet
against USC on May 4.
With the absence of these athletes from the lineup, other Bruins
have had an increased role in the team’s success. Pole
vaulters C.J. Bell and Pat Luke have improved their marks
substantially this season, helping the squad to reach new
heights.
The Mount SAC relays should provide a good barometer for the
squad, as far as its ability to compete against top competition.
While Venegas believes the Bruins may still be slightly underrated
by the pollsters, he knows that the team is still developing.
“A lot of the kids that we are depending on are not ones
who have scored points at the national level before” he said.
“I think we are a year away from being a top five team, and
I’d like in two years to be challenging for the national
title.”