W.track: Track gets a taste of Texas before June championships

The decision to travel halfway across the country to compete in
the Texas Relays this past weekend had little to do with the
meet’s prestige, according to UCLA women’s track coach
Jeanette Bolden. Instead, it was all about location, location,
location. Mike A. Meyers Stadium, site of the Texas Relays, will
also house the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. While there, the
Bruins were able to get a feel for the track and its facilities
prior to nationals. “We wanted to get familiar with our
surroundings,” Bolden said. “It was good to get used to
where we will warm up so that we are comfortable when we come
back.” The Bruins placed a disappointing eighth a year ago in
Sacramento and will be looking to challenge host Texas and
defending champion LSU this season. Bolden hopes that bringing her
squad to Texas will help to level the playing field.

JOHNSON SOARS: Three times Chelsea Johnson
attempted to surpass her own collegiate record, and three times she
came up short. So just one week after becoming the first woman in
NCAA history to clear the 15-foot mark, Johnson had to settle for a
meet-record 14 feet, 9 inches Saturday afternoon ““ a routine
performance by her lofty standards. Johnson, who topped her closest
competition by just under 10 inches, cleared the bar at 14-9 on her
first attempt, but failed each time at 15-1.25. Her next attempt at
the record could come as soon as Friday at Drake Stadium.

TEXAS TWO STEP: Mere hours after winning
the “˜B’ section of the high jump Friday morning,
sophomore Sheena Gordon was celebrating again. Not yet at full
strength after an off-season stress fracture in her left foot,
Gordon nonetheless cleared a personal best 5 feet, 11.25 inches to
take first place in the “˜A’ section of the high jump.
Gordon cleared the bar on her second attempt, while Southern
Methodist’s Nevena Lendel and Kansas State’s Morgan
High both failed on their three attempts.

WILLIAMS INJURED: Freshman Renee Williams
suffered an undisclosed injury this past weekend and did not
compete in the long jump. UCLA could not comment on the nature of
the injury due to NCAA regulations.

SHORT SPRINTS: Sophomore Jacqueline Nguyen
qualified for the NCAA Regionals with a personal-best 12-9.25 in
the pole vault “¦ Junior Candice Baucham took fifth place in
the triple jump with a regional-qualifying mark of 43-10 …
UCLA’s 4×400-meter relay team was disqualified in the finals
after running out of its lane.