Boldon heads record-breaking day for m.track

Monday, April 22, 1996

By Emmanuelle Ejercito

Daily Bruin Staff

Rules weren’t the only thing made to be broken.

Last weekend, the UCLA men’s track team traveled to Mt. San
Antonio College to compete in the renowned Mt. SAC relays, where
four UCLA athletes established new personal bests.

The most impressive performance came from sprinter Ato Boldon,
who ­ in one of the most exciting 100- meter races this season
­ sped past the finish line in 9.93 seconds. Boldon edged
Olympic gold medalist and former Bruin Michael Marsh, who finished
with a 9.95.

But Boldon’s 9.93 was not just a new personal record. It was a
new school record and the fastest time in the world this year.

And this was only Boldon’s second meet of the season.

"It is surprising to a certain degree," UCLA head coach Bob
Larsen said. "We knew he was in excellent shape, he was training
well. But to come back this early is really significant for
him."

Ibrahim Hassan also broke his old personal record with a 45.13
in the 400 meter. His time automatically qualifies him for the NCAA
championships.

Hassan had a critical role in the 400 meter relay as well.
Running the second leg, Hassan distanced the team from competitors
as he, Boldon, Erik Allen and Gentry Bradley set a season best for
the second straight week, crossing the line at 39.39.

To say that Mebrahtom Keflezighi has an affinity for Walnut
would be an understatement. On the same track last year, Keflezighi
set a personal record of 13:52.06 in the 5,000 meters.

This year, with ideal distance running conditions–still wind
and cool night air– Keflezighi again set a personal best,
demolishing his previous record by 15 seconds. His time of 13:37.0
in the invitational 5,000 is not only an NCAA automatic qualifying
mark, but it also is just two seconds shy of the UCLA all-time best
mark, set by Steve Ortiz in 1982.

"He looked really good and strong throughout the race, more so
than we had anticipated," UCLA head coach Bob Larsen said. "It was
really encouraging to see how fast he was running."

Encouraging because Keflezighi lost about four weeks worth of
running due to injury and was limited to cross-training in the
pool. His first meet was the Texas relays two weeks ago. Just out
of the pool and running in harsh windy conditions, Keflezighi still
managed to come in at 14:02. Then he came out to Walnut and ran a
4:19 in the first 1600 meters and 4:25 for his second.

Although Keflezighi was not the first collegiate runner to break
the tape as Arkansas’s Ryan Wilson clocked in at 13:29
(unofficial), Keflezighi did out-place NCAA cross-country champion
Godfrey Siamusiye, also of Arkansas.

Of course, the runners weren’t the only ones having a field
day.

Senior Mark Parlin threw his outdoor best of 63-9 3/4 to win the
Invitational section of the shot put. Fellow Bruin shot putter
Jonathan Ogden, who was selected by the Baltimore Ravens as the
fourth pick in the NFL draft Saturday, did not compete because he
was detained on the East Coast.

Daily Bruin file photo

Mebrahtom Keflezighi ran a personal best in the 5,000-meter.