M.track: Bruins race to victory in relay

Once a powerhouse in the mile relay, UCLA may be on its way to
recapturing some of its past glory. Sparked by the emergence of
sophomore Craig Everhart, the Bruin relay team led from
wire-to-wire to take first place in the 4×400-meter relay Saturday
afternoon at the Texas Relays, one of the nation’s most
prestigious track and field events. UCLA’s mark of 3:04.25 is
the ninth best in school history and the fastest in the past five
years. Only Baylor, Florida, Arizona State and LSU have posted
faster marks so far this season. “There is no telling what we
can do,” Everhart said. “We have a rich history and
tradition in the 4×400. It was great to see us break
through.” The Bruins captured three national championships in
the mile relay during the ’90s, but they probably snuck up on
the competition Saturday. UCLA has been no more than an
afterthought recently, failing to even qualify for nationals in the
event each of the past two seasons. But even without freshman
phenom Brandon Johnson, who sat out the meet in his home state due
to leg cramps, UCLA, managed to reinsert itself into the national
picture. Everhart ran a blistering 45.3-second first leg and
teammates Nick Thornton, Jonathan Williams and Denye Versher held
off runner-up Texas Tech and third-place Florida State to win by
nearly two-tenths of a second. “We turned some heads,”
UCLA sprints coach Tony Veney said. “The fans really got
after me. They didn’t think we could hang on. This
performance proves we belong.” UCLA’s time was more
than three seconds slower than Baylor’s first-place mark in
the invitational division, but the Bruins feel like they
haven’t peaked yet. “We have a long way to go,”
Everhart said. “Three teams ran 3:01. I think we can do the
same thing.” “We have the potential to be a national
finalist,” Veney said.

NEW HEIGHTS: Shaking off the memory of a
disappointing indoor season, senior pole vaulter Yoo Kim topped the
18-foot mark in his outdoor debut Saturday afternoon. Kim, an
All-American last season, surprisingly did not qualify for the NCAA
Indoor Championships last month, but seems to be back on track. His
mark of 18 feet, one-half inch earned him second place, four inches
ahead of Oregon’s Tommy Skipper, perhaps Kim’s top
Pac-10 rival. UCLA’s Pat Luke took seventh place with a
regional-qualifying mark of 17-4.50.

SHORT SPRINTS: Junior Tony Golston secured
fifth place in the 110-meter hurdles in 13.88 seconds “¦ UCLA
took second in the distance medley relay “¦ Juaune Armon
struggled to a disappointing ninth place finish in the long jump
with a mark of 23 feet, 11.75 inches “¦ Mike Landers qualified
for Regionals in the pole vault with a jump of 16-10.75 inches …
A crowd of over 22,000 was on hand to watch the meet.