By Jeff Eisenberg
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected]
In fourth place after the first day of competition at the Pac-10
championships, UCLA women’s track and field head coach
Jeanette Bolden knew she would need a strong performance on Sunday
from sophomore hurdler Sheena Johnson and freshman sprinter Monique
Henderson if her team were to win another conference title.
To say the least, Bolden got what she was hoping for.
Clinging to a one point lead over USC with just one event left
in the competition, the Bruins needed to win the 4X400 meter relay
in order to secure their seventh straight Pac-10 title.
The Bruins led 150-149 going into the race but, because the
results of the pole vault and discus had not been officially
recorded, it was just another race as far as the coach knew.
“I told my team not only are they running to defend their
Pac-10 4×4 title, but they’re preparing themselves to run for
nationals,” she said.
“I didn’t know until a couple minutes after the mile relay
that we needed to win.’
UCLA trailed halfway through the race before taking the lead on
Johnson’s third leg and cruising to a victory with Henderson
running the anchor.
The Bruins finished with 160 points, edging second-place USC who
tallied 157.
“This feels great,” Johnson said. “We always
talk about this meet coming down to the 4X400 meter relays, and it
always seems to.”
She also won the 400-meter hurdles and placed second in the
100-meter hurdles.
The victory marks the second year in a row that the Bruins have
clinched the conference title by beating USC in the mile relay.
The squad would not even have been in contention heading into
the final event without the heroics of Lena Nilsson.
The sophomore became only the second woman in Pac-10 history to
win both the 800- meter and the 1500-meter at the same conference
meet.
She won the 1500 with a time of 4:20.81, and then nipped
teammate Tiffany Burgess at the tape to win the 800-meter in
2:07.33.
“Before the (800-meter) race, I was just looking to
finish,” Nilsson said. Her winning time is also the second
best in UCLA history in the event.
“As the race progressed, I felt stronger, but I wondered
if I could catch Tiffany. I kicked and I got closer and closer. I
was throwing myself at the finish line.”
Burgess had led the race since the outset. Only a lifetime best
by Nilsson could defeat her, and that’s exactly what
happened.
Assistant coach Eric Peterson called Nilsson’s performance
“simply spectacular.”
“It wasn’t until just at the tape that Lena won,” he
said. “It was unfortunate for (Tiffany), but with great
fortune for the team that Lena was the one who passed
her.”
Chaniqua Ross also delivered a commanding performance, winning
the discus with a mark of 180-7. The junior’s victory marked
the fourth consecutive year a Bruin has won the conference title in
this event.
Winning another Pac-10 championship was a thrill for Bolden,
particularly because it was a collective effort by the whole squad.
Although senior NCAA indoor champion Darnesha Griffith managed only
a tie for third in the high jump, and sophomore Cari Soong fouled
in the hammer throw, others were able to step up in their own
events, and give UCLA the chance to win.
“They knew what events may not have gone well,”
Bolden said. “I felt really good that they worked together as
a team.”
With reports from J.P. Hoornstra, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.