Hurdler sees few obstacles in her way

Thursday, May 30, 1996

Bruin freshman attacks lofty goals with confidenceBy Scott
Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Staff

She has never been to the Olympic Games, nor can she be sure
that she will ever get there, and so the Olympic rings tattooed on
her right hip are easily misinterpreted.

But, please, do not be misguided: Joanna Hayes is not cocky, she
is merely confident. And, hey, winning breeds confidence.

Just a freshman, Hayes is in Eugene, Ore. this week, competing
for the UCLA women’s track and field team in the NCAA
Championships. On Wednesday, she finished 14th in the semifinal
heat of the 400-meter hurdles, one spot ahead of her seed, though
not quite good enough to advance to Saturday’s final.

Today, however, she will run the trials of the 100-meter
hurdles, in which her wind-aided mark of 13.23 seconds earned her
an automatic qualification.

She is the ninth fastest qualifier in the field of competitors,
and the only freshman in the nation to have met the automatic
qualification standard. She went undefeated in dual meet
competition this year, and two weeks ago, she dusted University of
Arizona junior Michelle Johnson in the final of the Pacific 10
Conference Championships.

"When I graduated and when I was coming here, I expected to win
the Pac-10 title," Hayes says. "I knew that I was going to win that
in the 100-hurdles ­ that was just a given for me."

So maybe Hayes was a bit cocky upon her arrival in Westwood, and
who could blame her? As a senior in high school, she was undefeated
in the 100-meter hurdles and suffered only one defeat in the
300-meter hurdles. She was crowned champion in both events at the
California state meet, and then was named by Track and Field News
as its 1995 High School Female Athlete of the Year.

Over the summer, she won the 100-meter hurdles at the National
Scholastic meet, earned a spot on the junior national team with a
win at the U.S. Junior meet, and then earned a gold medal in the
Pan American Junior Games in Santiago, Chile.

Her wind-aided 13.06 at the U.S. Junior meet was the second
fastest time ever, in any condition, by a high-school girl in the
100-meter hurdles.

Even more impressive is the fact that Hayes, who grew up in
Riverside, has only been hurdling since her junior year in high
school. She had, of course, been involved with track and field
since she was a young kid, but only as a sprinter and long
jumper.

"I was scared to death of the hurdles," she says. "I jumped over
one once, jumped over it funny, and I was like, ‘I could never do
that.’ It’s kind of ironic."

Kind of, to say the least. In the middle of her junior year,
Hayes’ mother moved the family across town in order for Hayes to
attend John North High School. There, she took a serious crack at
the hurdles, and by the end of the year, she had improved enough to
earn a third-place finish at the State meet.

Her rapid development in the hurdles can be attributed to the
competitive spirit and physical gifts ­ especially the speedy
feet ­ that she possesses.

"She’s just got the right attitude," UCLA assistant coach Bobby
Kersee says. "She has the ability, the God-given ability, and she
wants to train that ability to get the best out of herself.
Athletically, she’s got very good, fast feet in between the
hurdles.

"But her attitude is great. She’s focused, she’s enjoyable,
she’s low-key, and yet competitive. She’s just a super talent."

Nevertheless, Hayes’ best time as a junior, 14.02, wasn’t fast
enough to attract the attention of the big-time NCAA programs. Her
class was loaded with talented sprinters, and because the senior
class was rich with hurdlers, few, if any, collegiate coaches came
calling.

The first to express any serious interest was UCLA head coach
Jeanette Bolden, who, herself a former pupil of Hayes’ high school
coach, was given an inside tip.

"I saw him at the Mt. SAC Relays during her junior year, while
she was still triple jumping," Bolden says. "And just in passing,
he said, ‘Jeanette, watch this young lady. She’s going to be really
good ­ I’m going to get her ready for you."

So Bolden kept an eye on Hayes, and as soon as NCAA recruiting
regulations permitted, went after her. At the time, Hayes was still
running in the low 14-second range, and the only other schools that
had talked to her were Ohio, Arizona State and Arizona.

"Then, in the latter part of March, she ran at the Arcadia meet
and ran one of the fastest times in the country, and everybody
started paying attention," Bolden says. "But by then, it was a
little too late. I had already had a home visit, a campus visit,
and I was like, ‘Sign on the dotted line.’"

Eventually, Hayes did, and today Bolden finds herself the envy
of collegiate coaches across the country. Hayes’ wind-legal 13.29
at the Pacific 10 Championships is the fourth best time in school
history, and it makes her a legitimate threat in this week’s NCAA
competition.

"The main goal is to get into the finals," Hayes says. "
Because, basically, if I’m in the finals, anything can happen. It’s
like Bobby (Kersee) said: he’s never seen anybody who can win the
championship without being in the finals."

She has also earned a trip to Atlanta for this summer’s Olympic
trials, which she acknowledges will probably be a learning
experience.

And as for the tattoo? It is not a sign of arrogance, but a
simple reminder of her ultimate goal.

"Reporters call that cocky, and athletes call that faith,"
Kersee said. "I guess I’d put it this way: If I were to go
somewhere, from point A to point B, and I’m gonna get in my car, I
think it would be stupid to just get in my car and start driving ,
without a map.

"I think those tattooed rings are a reminder. I think that
they’re her map to the Olympic Games, to remind her where she wants
to go."

SUSIE CHU/Daily Bruin

The tattoo on Joanna Hayes’ right leg reminds the Bruin freshman
hurdler where she ultimately wants to go.