W. track off to Cal-Nevada Championships

W. track off to Cal-Nevada Championships

By Scott Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

Before it can worry about winning an NCAA crown or defending its
Pacific-10 Conference Championship, the top-ranked UCLA women’s
track and field team must first be concerned with the defense of
its title in the second annual Cal-Nevada Collegiate Championships
Saturday and Sunday at Fresno City College’s Ratcliffe Stadium.

In the inaugural event last season at Drake Stadium, the Bruins,
who have been picked by Track and Field News to win the 1995
national championship and have yet to lose a meet this season, put
on a clinic for the 16 other schools in the competition. UCLA won
nine of the 17 events en route to a 168-point finish, 75 points
more than second-place Fresno State, this year’s host.

This time around, however, the Bruins will be competing without
Beth Bartholomew, last year’s Track Athlete of the Meet, and
Valeyta Althouse, last year’s Field Athlete of the Meet.
Bartholomew, who won both the 3,000-meters and 1,500 last year, was
a senior and is no longer eligible, while Althouse, who won the
shot put with a then-Pacific-10 conference record, is in
Philadelphia for the prestigious Penn Relays.

Joining Althouse in Pennsylvania and further depleting UCLA’s
roster at the Cal/Nevada meet, will be senior All-Americans Dawn
Dumble and Karen Hecox. Dumble and Althouse competed in the
collegiate women’s discus and shot put Thursday, while Hecox
competed in the 5,000 and will run the 1,500. Thursday’s results
were not available at press time.

"Certainly, I’m looking for some good performances from our
group," UCLA head coach Jeanette Bolden said. "I don’t think we’re
going to run away with the Cal-Nevada meet, but we’re going to do
well.

"We should win if we do everything we’re supposed to do, but you
have to remember that we’re going into this meet without Valeyta,
Dawn and Karen."

Still, what UCLA does bring to the meet is impressive. Two-time
NCAA indoor high jump champion Amy Acuff is the obvious favorite in
her event, while Suzy Powell and Nada Kawar will likely pick up the
slack left in the throwing events by Dumble’s and Althouse’s
absences.

Shelia Burrell and Darlene Malco, both preparing for the Pac-10
heptathlon championships, will compete in the 100-meter hurdles,
the 200, the high jump and the long jump. Burrell will also throw
the javelin, while Malco will run the 400 hurdles.

Zoe Shaw will join Malco in both hurdles events, while Mame
Twamasi will open in the 100 and 200. Cicely Scott will run her
second individual 400 of the season, while Camille Noel is entered
in the 200.

Shelley Taylor will lead the distance corps in the 3,000 and the
5,000.