UCLA track heads for Texas Relays
By Derek Groom
March 30, 2010 9:35 p.m.
After claiming the team title in impressive fashion at the Cal/Nevada Championships last weekend, select athletes of men’s track will compete at the Texas Relays on Friday and Saturday.
The Texas Relays, held in Austin, takes an invitational format, so only accepted entries are allowed to compete.
Senior Marlon Patterson will compete in the invitational mile as he looks to post another impressive time following his dominating victory in the 1500 meters at the Cal/Nevada Championships. Patterson blew the competition away with a time of 3:42.13, finishing nine seconds ahead of second place at that competition. His 1500 meter time converts to a sub-four minute mile.
“It is spectacular to run a sub-four minute mile by yourself, so his performance was truly impressive,” coach Mike Maynard said.
The distance medley relay team will also compete on Saturday with high expectations after a sixth place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Junior Cory Primm will start the race in the 1200 meter leg, when he usually runs the 800 meters, but Maynard believes that Primm will excel in the longer distance.
“Cory has trained hard to improve on his range, so he should have a strong race,” Maynard said.
Junior Quentin Powell will run the 400 meter leg, and he will be handing the baton off to sophomore Jonathan Simmons for the 800 meter. To cap off the relay, redshirt junior Scott Crawford, who Maynard said he sees as an excellent mile runner, will run the final four laps of the race.
“This distance medley relay team has a good shot to do something special on Saturday,” Maynard said.
The pole vaulters also look to have a strong showing at the Texas Relays, as redshirt juniors Casey DiCesare and Johnny Quinn will try to place well in the event.
“Johnny is only one centimeter behind Casey right now, and both of them are capable to clear 18 feet in Texas,” Maynard said.
Maynard said he is disappointed to have to scratch the 4×100 relay team, due to small nagging injuries.
“The relay team had great potential this weekend, as they ran an exceptional time of 40.09 the first time out of the blocks this season,” Maynard said.
The Texas Relays will offer a higher level of competition than the Cal/Nevada Championships, which is exactly what Maynard desires for his team.
“We should win the Cal/Nevada Championships since the competition is not up to UCLA standard, but we could have scored much more, which is a good sign,” Maynard added.
With a coaching philosophy to compete at the best meets, Maynard looks at the Texas Relays as a great chance for improvement.
“We need to continue training, stay healthy, and raise the level of competition so that we can elevate to that level and see a development in performance,” Maynard said.
The Bruins will look to prove that they can still succeed in a more competitive field in Texas.
