Bruins unable to take NCAAs
By Daily Bruin Staff
June 3, 2001 9:00 p.m.
 MARY CIECEK/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Junior Scott
Moser lauches the discus to place third in the NCAA
championships Friday.
By Glen Worthington
Daily Bruin Contributor
EUGENE, Ore. “”mdash; Saturday was the culmination of five days
of athletic feats in the men’s track and field NCAA
Championships, including two 2001 world-leading marks at Hayward
Field at the University of Oregon.
While the Bruins didn’t have the strength to contend for a
national title this year, other schools fought tooth and nail for
the championship.
In the end, Tennessee edged out a valiant Texas Christian
University effort, 50-49, to win its third championship and its
first since the Volunteers won it ten years ago at this same
field.
The two teams were tied at 49 going into the final race, the
1600-meter relay. But unfortunately for TCU, its 4 x 400m relay
hadn’t qualified for the finals.
Barring disqualifications, all eight teams in the finals would
score points. As the field announcer said, “You can figure it
out, folks.”
Tennessee finished eighth in the relay, but their one point won
the championship.
The NCAA hero for Tennessee was freshman Justin Gatlin. Gatlin
ran a winning 10.08 seconds in the 100m dash Saturday and came back
less than an hour later with a 20.11 second win in the 200m
dash.
“I got back to the warm-up area (after the 100m) and
thought, “˜Hey! Why not go for the double?'” an
excited Gatlin said. “And I did.”
If two NCAA titles weren’t enough for the freshman,
Gatlin’s 19.86 wind-aided time on Wednesday in the 200m
preliminary heats is the 2001 world-leading mark under any
conditions for that event.
For TCU, the difference may have been Sydney Olympian Kim
Collins’ false start in the 200m. Collins, who finished a
close second behind Gatlin in the 100m, would have challenged
Gatlin in the 200m and certainly scored in the top five. Instead,
he walked away empty-handed, and TCU fell short of its championship
goals.
The field had some excitement of its own. With the championship
and the longest 2001 throw in the world already earned his from the
previous throw, Janus Robberts of Southern Methodist University
stepped into the ring for his final effort. With the audience
clapping in rhythm, he went into his spin and beat his own world
leading mark. Robberts’ toss of 72-feet-1 inch missed John
Godina’s (’95) collegiate record by only 1 1/4
inches.
The UCLA men’s best opportunity for a national showing
came Friday in the discus. Going into the event, junior Scott Moser
and redshirt freshman Dan Ames were ranked third and eighth,
respectively.
Ames’ performance unfortunately lacked the electricity
Bruin fans have come to expect. He followed a disappointing first
effort of 171-10 with a foul on his second toss. Needing a big
third throw to propel him into the final round, Ames let the discus
fly. Although the distance looked long enough, Ames fouled
again.
The 171-10 mark was not good enough for a finals spot.
“The only thing that could really hurt me was
confidence,” Ames said. “It was a big meet and I got a
little nervous out there.”
Ames was understandably disappointed with a 17th place finish.
But nevertheless, he is in good company “”mdash; last year Moser
finished in the same spot. And Ames is only a freshman. He’ll
be back.
Moser finished higher but seemed equally disappointed. His 197-4
throw earned him a third place NCAA finish to add to his Pac-10
discus championship.
Moser was proud of the accomplishment, but obviously wanted
something more.
“I went from 17th (last year) to third,” he said,
adding almost reluctantly, “I guess I’m pretty
happy.”
The Bruins were not so lucky in the shot put Saturday. Neither
Moser nor Ames qualified for the finals, but Moser managed to keep
a positive attitude about his NCAA performance.
“I’ve never made it in both events which is kind of
nice,” Moser said. “I would have liked to have done
better, but I’m glad I’m here.”
Ames was too frustrated to comment.
All five Bruins who competed in Oregon ““ Yoo Kim, Kyle
Erickson, Nate Marum, Ames and Moser ““ will be back next
year. For four of them, this was a first-time experience. If a few
more UCLA athletes join them next time around, the possibilities
are limitless. Tennessee won for now, but the Bruins’ time is
coming.
