Building for tomorrow
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 17, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 PATIL ARMENIAN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Bryan
Harrison anchors the 4×100 meter relay squad in its season
best on Saturday.
By Christina Teller and Glen
Worthington
Daily Bruin Senior Staff It’s a season of promise. Ranked No.
1 nationally in dual meets, the 2001 UCLA men’s track and
field team has gotten off to an impressive start thanks in part to
the No. 4-rated recruiting class. And with strong throwers and
sprinters, the Bruins look to be serious contenders for the Pac-10
title. “The reason we’re ranked No. 1 in the country at
the dual meet level is because we’re so deep,”
Men’s Head Coach Art Venegas said. “And I knew we would
be.” “We were fourth last year in Pac-10s, and now we
look like we’re one of the contenders, and that’s based
on the freshmen,” he added. With the freshmen class led by
Warren Rogers, who was the 2000 California State 100-meter champion
(10.42) and made the World Junior rankings in 1999 (No. 7 in the
100m and No. 10 in the 200m), and Juaune Armon, who took sixth in
the long jump at the California State meet, the Bruins have young
talent who will help UCLA grow into national contenders. The Bruin
veterans, including seniors hurdler John Hall, sprinter Bryan
Harrison and pole vaulter Steve Michaels and juniors thrower Scott
Moser and distance runner Bryan Green, lead with their
national-level experience. But the team is more than its individual
athletes. It is the coaching that keeps it together. “(Art)
pushes us and knows what we can do and he knows how to get each one
of us to do it,” sophomore Kyle Erickson said. “It
doesn’t matter how fast you run he’s going to keep
pushing you. He’s always going to be on your back, which is
why we’re going to be good. “I think Art Venegas has
done a really good job at recruiting,” Erickson continued.
“He’s tried to strengthen the image of the UCLA track
team and get us back in as national contenders. It might take a
couple years to get there, but we’re on the right
track.”
Sprints Senior Bryan Harrison leads the Bruin sprinters for the
second year in a row. Coming off a sixth place finish at the
Pac-10s in the 100m and second in the 200m last season, Harrison
has big aspirations for his last year as a Bruin. His time of 10.3
seconds in 1999 already ranks 10th in school history.
Harrison’s season-best times of 10.49 in the 100m and 20.88
in the 200m set on Saturday are slightly off from his lifetime
bests of 10.30 and 20.78. But Men’s Sprint Coach John Smith
insists that his training program is a learning curve geared for
peak results at the end of the season ““ so watch for Harrison
to put up big results in later meets. Harrison leads a young sprint
squad that is building for the future. According to Smith, this
season is about exposing the newcomers to the collegiate level and
ridding them of bad high school habits. Smith has already made
strong progress. Freshmen Denye Versher, Rogers and Rodney Diggs
all finished within a 10th of a second of each other in the top
three spots of the 400m in Saturday’s meet (47.30, 47.34,
47.37), each setting a new personal record.
Hurdles Hall and Erickson are both national contenders. Both
hurdlers provisionally qualified over the weekend for NCAAs in the
400m hurdles, Hall with 50.97 Erickson with 50.34. “I was
happy with my race last weekend,” Erickson said. “It
was a lifetime PR and a national qualifier. “We’re
about half way through the season right now, and I think I can hit
49 and can do something in NCAA meet,” he continued. “I
have John Hall to run with, and that helps a lot, he pushes
me.”
Relays The UCLA 4x100m team broke 40 seconds for the first time
this season on Saturday with a time of 39.96. The team of Harrison,
Rogers, junior Michael Lipscomb and freshman Steve Hayes
provisionally qualified for the NCAAs despite injured sophomore Joe
Hunter being out of the line-up. The 4x400m team of Versher,
Rogers, Diggs and sophomore Kyle Erickson is young but talented.
They ran a season best 3:11.13 Saturday.
Distance The distance runners look to make an impact at Pac-10s
this season and to qualify a few runners for NCAAs. The distance
runners are led by senior Green, who has clocked a 29:25.20 in the
10,000m, and senior Paul Muite, who leads the Bruins in the 1,500m
(3:49.22) and mile (4:12.44). He is second in the 800m (1:53.24).
“(Green) has already met the provisional qualifying standard
and is currently ranked among the top five in the Pac-10,”
Distance Coach Eric Peterson said. Senior Mason Moore leads the
Bruins in the 3,000m steeplechase and is currently sixth in Pac-10
at 9:05.40 With freshmen John Rankin and Nicholas Thornton, the
Bruins have a well-rounded squad.
Throws Junior Scott Moser is possibly the men’s track
team’s most exciting performer of the 2001 season. Last year,
Moser placed 17th at the NCAAs in the discus with a throw of
183-feet-7 inches. He has already surpassed last year’s marks
and is on his way to proving himself one of the best in the nation.
Moser is currently the national leader in the discus (206-8) and is
No. 8 in the shot put (62-4 1/2). Redshirt freshman Dan Ames is
following close in Moser’s footsteps. Although he trails
Moser in the shot put and the discus, Ames is the season-leader in
the hammer throw (192-10). Moser and Ames consistently provide a
one-two punch for the Bruins in the throw events. The Bruins
success in the throws extends to all events. In the javelin,
sophomore Nate Marum threw a 228-11 personal best, NCAA provisional
qualifier last weekend. Venegas, who also coaches the throw events,
expects a strong national showing from his athletes this year.
Pole vault The pole vaulters are led by senior Michaels and
sophomore Jared Drake. Michaels, who competed at the 2000 national
meet but has sat out the last two meets with an injury, has a
lifetime best of 17-7 and jumped 17-5 during the 2001 indoor
season. Drake’s personal best currently stands at 16-9 1/2.
According to Pole Vault Coach Anthony Curran, Drake has the fire
and motivation to clear 17 feet and compete with the nation’s
best.
Jumps Juaune Armon leads the jumping contingent as the top long
jumper (23-8 1/4) and sits second in the triple jump (46-11).
Freshman Oliver Jackson and sophomore Josh Levy also contribute to
the Bruin jumps. Jackson is second in the long jump (24-5 3/4) and
third in the triple jump (46-5 1/2). Levy leads in the high jump
(6-8 3/4).
Men’s Track SOURCE: UCLA Sports Info Original
graphic by VICTOR CHEN
