Competitions give athletes a sense of purpose.

And for many young athletes, that feeling is amplified when they are given the opportunity to compete alongside the best of the best.

UCLA track and field will travel to Mt. SAC Relays this week in Torrance, California, a meet many California athletes have looked forward to since high school. Mt. SAC Relays, considered one of the largest track and field events in the world, brings together competitors across all levels – from high schoolers to professional athletes.

The Bruins will also send various athletes to the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California. These meets serve as the third-to-last competitions before UCLA’s postseason campaign begins.

Track and field director Joanna Hayes recognizes the toll continued travel can have on the athletes’ bodies.

“They’re getting tired. When you travel a lot, you get tired physically and mentally,” Hayes said. “If you get drained physically and mentally, your body is tired because you’re in different time zones, and you have to change your eating. We try to keep the eating as good as possible, as consistent as possible. But it does change everything when you’re traveling.”

The Bruins have 38 entries at Mt. SAC Relays, with 20 men and 15 women seeded to compete in individual events. The men’s and women’s squads will have 4×400-meter relays starting in the invitational elite category. The women will also have a collegiate 4×100-meter relay.

Freshman sprinter Shaun McCoullum and senior sprinter Ameen Tokhi will race in the men’s collegiate 100-meter dash among a field of 50 competitors. Both athletes are also listed to start the collegiate 200-meter dash.

Junior sprinter Gabriel Clement II is set to race in the invitational elite race for the men’s 200-meter run. He will compete against Rai Benjamin, a professional athlete and Olympian representing Nike who holds the second-fastest time ever in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a 46.52-second mark.

Junior hurdler Davis Davis-Lyric will compete in the men’s collegiate 110-meter hurdles. The Upland, California, local is familiar with Mt. SAC Relays, as he competed there in high school. He placed first overall in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.04 in 2023.

His teammate and junior sprinter/hurdler Otto Laing will run in the men’s invitational elite section of the men’s 110-meter hurdles, where he will compete against 24 other athletes.

Four Bruins will compete in the men’s 400-meter hurdles – sprinter/hurdlers senior Shawn Toney, senior Tamaal Myers II, graduate student Chris Paige and senior Zaire Waring.

Sophomore pole vaulter Cade Sommers and senior pole vaulter Hunter O’Brien will compete in the men’s pole vault. Throwers sophomore Derek Smith and senior Xaver Hastenrath take part in the men’s shot put. Junior thrower Jake Stafford is seeded to take part in the men’s discus.

“Every time we compete, we want to do our best and hope to be the best on the day,” Stafford said. “We’re chasing PRs. He (throwing coach Sean Denard) does a very good job of letting us hear what we need to hear and then letting us work, and it’s great being able to compete alongside all of our teammates here. We have a great support system for each other.”

Junior sprinter Taylor Snaer will run in the women’s collegiate 100-meter dash.

Freshman sprinter Gabriella Taylor will run in the women’s collegiate 400-meter dash, and sprinters senior Naomi Johnson, sophomore Kayla McBride and junior Ava Simms will compete in the invitational elite category. Sophomore middle distance runner Marie Warneke is the sole Bruin entered in the women’s 800-meter dash.

Redshirt senior sprinter/hurdler Madison Fleming and sophomore sprinter/hurdler Celeste Polzonetti will race the women’s 100-meter hurdles. Sophomore sprinter/hurdler Mia Holden will take off in the women’s collegiate 400-meter hurdles, and freshman sprinter/hurdler Olivia Griffin will run in the invitational elite section.

Various athletes will take part in the Bryan Clay Invitational, including junior distance runner Aaron Cantu, who will compete in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. Freshman jumper Nicolas Alexis will jump in both the men’s long jump and triple jump. Freshman distance runner Kaitlyn Arciaga will start in the women’s 400-meter dash and 800-meter run. Senior distance runner Kaho Cichon will also race the 800-meter run.

As the Bruins likely look for success in these competitions, they remind themselves to enjoy the moment and cherish their sport.

“Embracing team culture, trying to have a good time, trying to have fun, not take anything too seriously,” senior jumper Mackenzie Kirk said. “Not taking anything too seriously and just having fun, making sure I’m still having a good time at the end of the day is what I really try to embrace, especially with all the traveling that we do.”