Track and field looks to continue positive results in Texas
Junior hurdler Misana Viltz took the 60-meter hurdles crown in New York over the weekend, and will be one of the athletes going to Texas for the Charlie Thomas Invitational on Friday. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Cameron Patterson
Feb. 1, 2017 9:40 p.m.
After getting off to a strong start at Columbia’s East-West Challenge this weekend, the UCLA track and field team will compete in the Charlie Thomas Invitational in College Station, Texas, on Friday.
The team is taking even fewer athletes than it did to New York, though some are the top performers from the weekend.
“It was a great meet for everyone. We had some great competition, which is always fun for the first meet of the year,” said junior hurdler Misana Viltz. “As a team our goal is just to win – whether its jumps, sprints, distance racing … we want wins.”
The travel squad that gets to go to the faraway invitationals during the indoor season is reserved for those athletes who are most competitive and who performed well at the Blue and Gold Intrasquad meet last fall, according to redshirt sophomore hurdler Pattriana Perry.
“If you’re in the travel group, you’ve been able to prove yourself and your worth to the coaches,” Viltz said. “You’ve been putting in the work, time, and having that pressure behind you really makes you want to perform at your best.”
Viltz was one of the six UCLA athletes who claimed an event title last weekend. In the 60-meter hurdles, which he will run again this weekend, he clocked in at 8.02 seconds.
Junior sprinter Leon Powell didn’t claim an event title in New York, but his 60-meter time of 6.72 currently stands as the 30th fastest in the nation.
Though the Bruins are going up against top teams like the No. 5 Texas A&M men and the No. 2 Arkansas women, the goal – apart from winning like Viltz mentioned – is to continue improving times and scores.
“This weekend everyone wants to PR and just run faster than they did last weekend,” Perry said. “Now that our first meet is over and we got one under our belts, we know the mindset that we want to have when we compete this weekend.”
The sprinting events will feature some of the biggest names in the country. Jalen Miller and Emeilo Ferguson of Texas Christian University are 17th and 23rd in the nation for the 60-meter dash, and Fred and Mylik Kerley, from Texas A&M, are third in the nation in the 200 and 400 meters, respectively.
For Powell, being able to match up with whoever he goes up against starts with the start.
“I just need to work on getting out of the blocks at a proper angle, need to move my arms bigger,” Powell said.
