Bruins run up against world’s best
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 18, 1996 9:00 p.m.
Friday, April 19, 1996
Mother Nature one of tough opponents for w. trackBy Scott
Yamaguchi
Daily Bruin Staff
Two weeks ago, the UCLA women’s track and field team flew to
Austin to compete in the prestigious Texas Relays, where head coach
Jeannette Bolden had hoped that the high level of competition would
push the Bruins to season-best marks.
Instead, UCLA ran into a bit of inclement weather and, as a
result, failed to improve on any of its previous marks.
The Bruins did speed up in a not-so-competitive home meet last
weekend, but now, as they head into this weekend’s high-profile Mt.
San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, Mother Nature seems once
again to be wreaking havoc.
The Mt. SAC Relays is one of the premier meets in California, if
not the nation, and attracts most of the top U.S. athletes, as well
as those from Great Britain, Canada, Germany and Nigeria, among
others.
More than 150 colleges will be represented, highlighted by
traditional powerhouses UCLA, USC, Tennessee and Arkansas.
But a tenuous weekend forecast, coupled with interruptions in
training routines caused by Tuesday and Wednesday’s rain, has done
little to help the times this weekend.
Several world-class athletes have already withdrawn and although
Bolden has a hefty list of entries, there are no guarantees that
all of her athletes will compete.
Leading the way, if they do compete, will be Bisa Grant and
Joanna Hayes in the 100-meter hurdles, Hayes and Darlene Malco in
the 400mH and Andrea Anderson in the 100 and 200mH.
Charlene Baldwin will join Anderson in the more prestigious
invitational division of the 200mH, then will run the university
division of the 400.
Grant, Hayes and Malco are all entered in the invitational
division, as are triple-jumper Jeanara Jackson, shot-putter Valeyta
Althouse, discus-thrower Suzy Powell and Nada Kawar, who is slated
for both the shot put and discus.
For the distance crew, Jeanene Harlick will run the invitational
10,000m, Katherina Kechris the university 1,500 and 3,000m, Githa
Hampson the 1,500m and Zalika Davis the 800m.
The Mt. SAC Relays is one of the premier meets in California …
and attracts most of the top U.S. athletes.
