UCLA warms up to host first outdoor meet

By J.P. Hoornstra
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

After more than two months of taking the show on the road, the
men and women of UCLA track and field are settling in under the
sunshine for outdoor competition. The Bruins will host Washington
State and UC Berkeley in their first full-squad outdoor meet
Saturday at Drake Stadium.

“We feel like the track’s ours,” UCLA
sophomore runner Nick Thornton said about the first home meet.
“You don’t want someone to totally destroy you on your
own track, so it’s almost a pride thing.”

Having run in the 800-meter during the indoor season, Thornton
is one of many athletes who will adjust their repertoire for the
outdoor season, during which the 800-meter run isn’t held.
Men’s head coach Art Venegas believes that several outdoor
format changes will work to the Bruins’ advantage.

“We don’t recruit from the East Coast or
cold-weather climates, so our kids that we recruit are outdoor-type
kids,” he said. “We’re more suited to be an
outdoor team than an indoor team.”

For the first time all year, UCLA will compete with its full
squad ““ 35 athletes, according to women’s head coach
Jeanette Bolden ““ after sending 15-20 athletes to most indoor
events.

Many will compete in events that aren’t held indoors. All
across the country, schools will now compete in the discus,
javelin, hammer, 4×100 meter relay, intermediate hurdles,
steeplechase and 100-meter dash.

On top of that, athletes must contend with weather ““ a
factor UCLA has faced in practices all season.

“If we lived in a climate where we had to do a lot of our
training indoors, then we would have a big adjustment,” said
assistant coach Eric Peterson. “There’s not much of a
transition for us at all.”

It is the first outdoor meet for many athletes, and others will
be competing in events that they’re unaccustomed to. The
coaches are taking precautions to ensure that no athletes get
injured. But Cal and WSU, who succumbed to the Bruins on many
occasions during the indoor season, are both gunning for a win.

“Any time you compete against the Bruins, you’re out
to beat us,” Bolden said.

The Saturday meet begins at 8:30 a.m. with the hammer throw.