Junior distance runner Aaron Cantu puts his hands up in the air while holding a crown. Cantu earned a victory in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the UCLA-USC dual meet on May 3, clocking a 8:51.85-second performance. (Andrew Ramiro Diaz/Photo editor)
Many argue that history repeats itself.
And that trend may not favor the Bruins this weekend.
UCLA track and field will travel to Lincoln to compete in the 2026 Outdoor Big Ten Championships on Friday through Sunday as the squad nears the end of its season.
This post was updated May 5 at 9:33 p.m.
Senior sprinter/hurdler Tamaal Myers walked off the track and embraced track and field director Joanna Hayes in front of a celebrating UCLA men’s team.
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.
The runway is empty.
The engines have withdrawn.
The wheels have dropped.
And the Bruins finally made a stop at home.
After 15 trips around the nation, the team competed at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational at Drake Stadium on Saturday for the last home meet this season.
This post was updated April 6 at 8:05 p.m.
Divide and conquer.
A strategy, a mindset and a common approach well-expressed by the Bruins.
UCLA track and field split its team between the Battle on the Bayou in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Stanford Invite in Stanford, California, where the squad faced familiar competitors from programs that include USC, Arizona and UC Santa Barbara on Friday and Saturday.
Homecomings often elicit a wide range of emotions.
And Gabriel Clement II said he is embracing them all.
He is heading home.
The junior sprinter will compete less than 100 miles away from his hometown of Kaplan, Louisiana, on Friday and Saturday at the Battle on the Bayou in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his family will cheer him on.
Home is not always on the schedule for college athletes.
But for one Bruin, this weekend’s meet will offer exactly that.
UCLA track and field will divide its roster across two competitions, sending nine distance runners to compete at the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, California while sprinters and field athletes will head to compete in the Battle on the Bayou meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Past legends help shape present superstars.
UCLA track and field honored former coaches Jim Bush and Bob Larsen – the latter helped train 23 eventual Olympic athletes at UCLA and the former earned four NCAA Coach of the Year selections – at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival and the Jim Bush Legends Meet on Friday and Saturday.
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