Bruin heptathlete Steele Wasik impresses at MPSF championships

Relatively lackluster performances by a majority of UCLA athletes at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend allowed one Bruin to dominate the spotlight.

Sophomore heptathlete Steele Wasik added 184 points onto his personal best he set at the Husker Invitational in early February, winning the heptathlon and shattering the all-time UCLA record with 5,783 points.

“MPSF is always such a competitive meet and I knew that coming in,” Wasik said. “I had a minor hip injury earlier but being able to compete fully healthy was a big plus. It honestly feels great to get a record like that, but there’s still nationals.”

Wasik said after the Husker meet that he felt he could grab an additional 20 points in many areas across his seven-event spread.

He added 19 or more points in five of the heptathlon feats – including 59 in the pole vault and 46 in the high jump, and did not drop any from his already-record Husker performance. The only event he did not improve upon was his best, the 60-meter hurdles, where he broke even.

Wasik advanced from having the 17th best score in the nation, the first spot to not make indoor nationals, to having the ninth best score. That spot is just one shy of becoming an All-American in what coaches across the nation say is one of the most competitive heptathlon fields in history.

Securely in the top 16, the sophomore will have a chance at an All-American mark at the NCAA indoor championships in two weeks.

Also moving up to a No. 9 spot was sophomore shot putter Braheme Days, who threw for 63 feet, 9.75 inches. The personal best helped UCLA take the top two places in the event, with redshirt senior Nicholas Scarvelis taking first for the third time in his collegiate career.

The third member of the men’s shot put team, Dotun Ogundeji, was 14th in the nation heading into the cutoff weekend for nationals, and did not improve his season-best distance. The redshirt freshman will likely retain his ticket to nationals.

“It was really nice to see everyone get some good throws off this weekend,” Scarvelis said. “The throwing group is gonna be in good hands for the next couple years with Braheme and Dotun.”

The throwers weren’t alone in outstanding MPSF performances. Junior jumper Sage Stone, despite finishing just outside the NCAA indoor qualification height, set a new personal record with a mark just over 7 feet.

“Oh man, it was absolutely incredible – the feeling was almost indescribable,” Stone said. “I was just so excited when I cleared it. This was definitely a meet where I wanted to perform well, so being able to clear 7 was a great feeling.”

While the Bruins said they collectively focus more on the upcoming outdoor season than the indoor season, the men’s team still managed to take third place.

The women’s team took 11th, in large part thanks to the 11 points the women’s shot put team contributed. Redshirt junior Torie Owers took third, while redshirt freshmen Stamatia Scarvelis and Ashlie Blake placed sixth and seventh, respectively.

Email Hull at [email protected] or tweet him @michaelchull. Email Sairam at vsairam@media.ucla.edu or tweet him @BruCanes.