Bruins place first nine times
For the second time this season, the UCLA men’s track and field team earned a convincing victory at an invitational meet, dominating competition at last weekend’s 2002 Cal-Nevada Championships, which were held in Fresno.
With 16 top-three awards, including nine first place finishes at the two-day meet, the Bruins tallied 204 points, nearly doubling the score of second place Fresno State, which finished with 103.
UCLA received another strong performance from sprinter Mike Lipscomb, who won the 200-meter dash with a final time of 21.09 seconds, more than .7 seconds faster than his closest competition.
The Bruins also displayed superior skill in the pole vault, as CJ Bell won the event, and three other athletes from the champion school claimed placed in the top five.
After his team’s resounding victory, Bruin head coach Art Venegas was named Cal-Nevada Coach of the Year.
Just like the men’s team, the Bruin women had several strong individual performances over the weekend as the squad was split between the meet in Fresno and the Stanford Track and Field Invitational in Palo Alto.
The Bruins managed a sixth place finish at the Cal-Nevada Championships despite competing with a partial squad consisting of mostly freshmen.
Shot putters Briona Reynolds and Jessica Cosby swept the top two spots in the event, while sophomore Cari Soong took first place in the hammer throw.
Cal State Northridge finished first overall in the team competition.
In Palo Alto, Tracy O’Hara added to an already sterling senior season with a victory in the pole vault. Her jump of 14-1 1/4 was a season outdoor best.
Sophomore Lena Nilsson also had a strong meet, placing second in the 1500, with a lifetime best mark of 4:14.11, No. 5 all-time on the Bruin women’ s 1500 chart.
Compiled by Jeff Eisenberg, Daily Bruin Contributor.