W. track racing to stay on top

Friday, May 17, 1996

By Scott Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Staff

If recent history was any indication, the UCLA women’s track and
field team would have to be the odds-on-favorite to win this year’s
Pacific 10 Conference Championship.

After all, the Bruins have won the last three league crowns,
were picked by Track and Field News to finish in the top three at
this year’s NCAA Championships, and two weeks ago, completed their
fourth consecutive undefeated dual-meet season.

But the defending champs, who host the conference meet Saturday
and Sunday at Drake Stadium (events begin at 1 p.m. both days), are
surprisingly not favored to win the title. Instead, USC, which
brought the Bruins down to the wire in the dual-meet finale May 4,
has been picked to win the school’s first league championship.

On paper, based on season-best marks by all athletes in the
conference, the Trojans wind up with 144 points, just edging UCLA’s
140, and comfortably ahead of Oregon’s 113.

Still, Southern Cal was favored by 19 points on a pre-meet dope
sheet for its dual meet with the Bruins, and UCLA managed a 74-70
victory. And with the two teams’ clear superiority over the rest of
the conference, the race for the team championship might as well be
considered a dual meet.

"I see this meet being similar to the ‘SC dual meet, where it’s
definitely going to be a sprinters challenge," UCLA head coach
Jeanette Bolden said. "The points in the high jump, the throws, and
some other races are pretty locked, so the key matchups are in
sprint events for us and distance events for them."

As it stands, UCLA’s absence in last weekend’s heptathlon
competition seems to be the difference in the meet. USC had two
scorers in the event, with Nicole Haynes the champion and Tanya
Smith finishing fourth, giving the Trojans a 15-point head start on
the Bruins.

And, to make things even more difficult, Bolden’s team has been
hit with a rash of injuries, leaving the coach with a smaller group
than she normally brings to the league meet.

In any case, USC’s status as the favorite is based on
season-best marks, and Bolden is expecting some big improvements
from her athletes this weekend. The NCAA Championships are less
than two weeks away, and the conference meet provides the last
opportunity for the Bruins to meet the qualification standards.

"Getting qualified is a must ­ there’s no time to wait,"
Bolden said. "We either have to do it Saturday or Sunday, or wait
for next year."

Especially looking to improve their status will be Andrea
Anderson in the 100- and 200-meters, Joanna Hayes in the
400-hurdles and Darlene Malco in the 400-meters.

Anderson is the favorite to win both of her events, while Hayes
has run the fastest time in the conference in the 100-meter hurdles
and the second fastest in the 400-hurdles, and Malco has run the
second-fastest time in the 400 and the 200.

Malco and Anderson will team with Bisa Grant and Mame Twumasi in
the 400-meter relay, where the Bruins are ranked third, and which
will be one of the most critical races in the meet.

Camille Noel will take Grant’s place in the 1,600-meter relay,
in which the Bruins are looking to improve on their season-best
3:33.56 with an NCAA automatic qualifying time under 3:33.50.

Senior Valeyta Althouse will likely win a third-consecutive shot
put title, leading teammate Nada Kawar in what should be a 1-2
finish. Kawar should also be involved in another UCLA sweep, with
Suzy Powell, in the discus, and junior Amy Acuff is shooting for a
third-straight high jump title.

And with the meet on their home track, Bolden is confident that
her Bruins will find the points necessary to overcome USC.

"It’s gonna have to be done," she said. "It’s here in Drake
­ in our hometown ­ so we have to find a way to win."