UCLA track and field all set for high-stakes NCAA prelims

Practices are no longer about the endless runs that leave everyone on the verge of throwing up.

Although it’s time to back off on the mileage, it’s hard to miss the looks of focus and determination on the track athletes’ faces as the coaches scream out encouragement in the background during a routine Tuesday practice.

The UCLA track and field team will send 43 athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Round in Texas, where each will need to finish in the top 12 of their events to qualify for the NCAA championships.

Despite the high stakes in a make-it-or-break-it meet, the Bruins are putting up a front of calm composure that just barely hides the excitement and nerves bubbling on the inside.

“I think the fact that you’ve been preparing for this all season gets you to the point where you feel a little more comfortable leading into the race,” said redshirt freshman distance runner Lane Werley. “You feel that you’ve already run the race in your head throughout the season, just preparing for it.”

The athletes feel that the coaches have prepared them well for this last hurdle between them and the NCAA championships.

It also helps that UCLA is coming off of a successful Pac-12 Championship weekend, where the men’s team finished third and the women’s team took fourth place.

“If we just go out there and race like we’ve been preparing for this one race all season, I think we can do pretty well,” Werley said.

Although he will be one of the 14 Bruin athletes making a NCAA debut, Werley is ready to provide support for his older teammates who have already passed on their nuggets of advice from their past prelim experiences.

The resounding theme among the team this week is preparation, as coaches and athletes all have said that UCLA is prepared to compete at the highest level.

But no matter how prepared any athlete feels, it is hard to ignore the significance of such a meet.

“I feel prepared, but it’s also very nerve-racking because this is the first stage of nationals,” said redshirt sophomore distance runner Kelsey Smith. “We have to qualify out of here to go to the final round, and that’s always a lot of pressure.”

Many athletes have set their expectations on finishing within the top 12 to make it into nationals. Despite the arduous task of competing in three events this weekend, sophomore Kylie Price plans on qualifying for the 100 meters, long jump and the 4×100-meter relay.

“I expect myself to go to the NCAA championship,” Merriweather said. “That’s what I have been training for the whole year, with the mindset of making it to the NCAA and actually placing, so I’ll try to do just that.”