W. track: First day of NCAAs a breeze
By Jeff Eisenberg
June 8, 2005 9:00 p.m.
Almost everything went smoothly for the second-ranked UCLA
women’s track and field team on the first day of the NCAA
Championships on Wednesday.
Monique Henderson and Dawn Harper advanced to the finals with
ease in their respective events. Candice Baucham cruised into the
finals of the long jump. And though senior Lara Saye failed to
qualify for the finals in the discus, sophomore Kamaiya Warren
continued to establish herself as a contender in the event, making
the third-best throw overall in the prelims.
Harper, a junior, was perhaps the most impressive of the Bruin
qualifiers. Despite cool temperatures and sporadic rainfall, she
recorded the third-fastest time in the semifinals of the 100-meter
hurdles, equalling her personal-best time of 12.91 seconds.
Earlier in the day she won her heat in the quarterfinals of the
event in 13.23 seconds.
“Today’s strategy was to run my rounds and make it
to the final,” Harper said. “Stay strong in the blocks
and advance. There was no time pressure on me today. I’ve run
two good races in one day before, and I can do it again.”
Henderson, the top seed in the 400m, also had an easy day,
advancing to Friday’s semifinals by winning heat three in
51.56 seconds. It was the top mark of the day, but nearly a second
slower than Henderson’s personal best of 50.53 seconds.
“I was just looking to qualify,” Henderson said.
“With the rain, I knew times were not going to be that fast.
I wanted to run a time that was in the top two.”
GAMECOCKS FALTER: Perhaps the most significant
news of the day was the fate of fourth-ranked South Carolina, one
of the leading contenders to capture the women’s team
title.
The Gamecocks failed to qualify a single athlete for the finals
of the 100m or the 100m hurdles, two of their top events.
