NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Staff Junior Kyle Erickson (above) ran
the 400-meter hurdles in 49.62 seconds, fourth-best in school
history, to win the event Saturday.
By Jeff Eisenberg
Daily Bruin Contributor
Rounding the turn towards the finish line in the men’s 800
meters, UCLA’s Ben Aragon trailed USC’s Anthony Heckman
by approximately 10 feet for third place in the race. The Bruin
freshman had already won the 1500 meters less than an hour earlier
and had every right to settle for a comfortable fourth-place
finish.
Instead, Aragon summoned all of his strength, closed the gap and
ultimately nipped Heckman at the finish line by six hundredths of a
second, securing an extra point for the Bruins.
“I just remember that it came down to one point last
year,” said Aragon referring to the Trojans’ 82-81
victory last season in the dual meet. “You don’t want
to feel like if you had pushed that extra two seconds than we would
have won.”
Aragon’s superlative effort was matched by the entire
squad, as No. 18 UCLA won 14 events against their No. 22 crosstown
rivals en route to a 121-81 victory in front of over 8,904 fans at
Drake Stadium.
Scott Moser got the Bruins off to a fast start in the first
event of the day, easily winning the hammer throw with a lifetime
best 210 feet, 11 1/2 inches, the top throw in the Pac-10 this
season.
“The hammer throw sets the tone for the rest of the
meet,” said Moser, who also won the discus on Saturday.
“I had a really good practice yesterday. I knew that if I
held my form together and relaxed, then I would have a big personal
record.”
As the day progressed, UCLA seemed to feed off the boisterous
crowd and the intensity of the rivalry.
Charles Ryan won the 110-meter hurdles in 13.69 seconds, edging
USC’s Ryan Wilson by less than a tenth of a second and
breaking a personal record.
“Some people start off well, but I am a finisher,”
said Ryan. “(Wilson) is one of the best hurdlers in the
country, but in case anybody forgot, so am I. I got him here. I am
going to get him at Pac-10s, and I’ll get him at
nationals.”
If Ryan had something to prove against USC, so did senior
sprinter Mike Lipscomb after his failure to pass the baton cleanly
against the Trojans last season in the 4×100 meter relay, causing
the team to be disqualified.
This year Lipscomb sparkled against USC, winning both the 100-
and 200-meter dashes and anchoring the winning 4×400 meter relay
team.
“I feel responsible for losing last year,” he said.
“This was definitely redemption for that loss. To be honest,
I never thought I’d be able to win against guys like (USC
sprinters) Sultan McCullough and Darrell Rideaux. I am just on top
of the world right now. I can’t be touched.”
After Kyle Erickson ran a personal-best 49.62 in winning the
400-meter hurdles, and Juane Armon set a UCLA sophomore-class
record in the long jump, the stage was set for senior Bryan Green
to clinch the victory in the 5,000 meters.
“I knew if I won, I would clinch it,” said Green,
who had also clinched victories against USC in his freshman and
sophomore years. “I was really excited about the race. It
just gave me chills all over.”
The victory comes a year after the Trojans ended UCLA’s
streak of 22 straight victories in the dual meet, a win that just
added more spice to an already intense rivalry.
“This is the best meet of the season because the stadium
is nearly packed,” said Ryan. “We’ve got two more
shots at them (in Pac-10s and potentially at the NCAA Outdoor
Championships), and I plan on winning both.”