Track and field athletes qualify for indoor championships
(Daily Bruin file photo)
By Tiffany Esmailian
March 13, 2014 12:43 a.m.
As the indoor season nears its end, the athletes on the UCLA track and field team are split with differing goals.
Five athletes have been accepted for entry at the NCAA indoor championships and are mentally and physically preparing for this competition, while the rest of the team continues its training for outdoor season.
The Bruins will be traveling to the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, N.M to compete in the NCAA indoor championships that will be held on March 14-15.
The women will be represented by junior sprinter/jumper Kylie Price in the long jump, redshirt junior distance runner Kelsey Smith in the 3,000m and senior thrower Ida Storm in the weight throw. Price ranks fourth in the country with 21-2, Smith ranks sixth in the 3,000 meter with a time of 9:04.31, and Storm is seventh in the hammer throw with 70-1.50.
The men will send two athletes to Albuquerque; senior pole vaulter Mike Woepse will take part in the pole vault while senior decathlon participant Marcus Nilsson qualified in the heptathlon. Woepse is in sixth place with a clearance of 18-0.50. Nilsson is 12th in the heptathlon with 5,665 points.
“The whole ‘beating the guy next to you’ thing – that’s going to be our focus.” Woepse said. ” We lacked a certain toughness at first, but we definitely picked it up going forward. We’re going to need mental toughness.”
As for those athletes not participating in the NCAA indoor championships, a different type of preparation seems to be needed.
Junior sprinter/hurdler Brea Buchanan said she disagrees with the “beating the (person) next to you” concept, given her event. Hurdling requires the individual to focus on himself or herself and the obstacle coming their way.
“I wouldn’t call it mental toughness,” Buchanan said. “I would call it self-discipline or focus.”
Buchanan plans to go into her outdoor season by strategizing ahead of time. She said she realizes she needs to take everything she works on at practice and execute it exactly during a race or a competition.
“To execute – that’s my motto for the outdoor season,” Buchanan said.
Despite their different upcoming weeks, the athletes have been happy with their individual results lately and hope to continue through the next season with the same momentum
Compiled by Tiffany Esmailian, Bruin Sports contributor
