By Jeff Eisenberg
Daily Bruin Contributor
The underdog UCLA men’s track and field team stunned its highly ranked competition last weekend in winning the MPSF Championships in Flagstaff, Ariz.
This weekend, both the men’s and women’s team will play the role of the favorite when they begin the outdoor season competing against the other UC schools in The All UC Invitational in Irvine.
“We really shocked a lot of people last weekend,” Art Venegas, head coach of the men’s squad, said. “But this weekend we are not going to win at the expense of destroying kids who (competed) indoors.”
Instead Venegas and women’s head coach Jeannette Bolden will treat the Irvine meet as a chance to assess their athletes in a favorable setting.
The warm weather, short travel time, and less formidable competition should be very conducive to excellent scores.
“We are just going to evaluate our talent in terms of where we are based on the training,” said Venegas. “A lot of kids have not had meets in a while, especially the distance runners. This is their first outdoor meet since cross country.”
Bolden agrees, and hopes to use this meet to help her inexperienced team prepare for the outdoor season.
“Our team is extremely young. That is the big difference between this year and the last two years (when the Bruins won consecutive indoor national titles),” said Bolden. “We are going to allow the newcomers to get out the jitters of being a UCLA athlete and compete for the first time.”
Neither squad will be at full strength in Irvine this weekend because each is sending several athletes to the Last Chance Qualifier in Seattle to vie for spots in next week’s NCAA Indoor Championships.
“The people who are going to Seattle have an outstanding chance to make nationals,” said Bolden, who is sending a large contingent including her top relay team, shot putters Chaniqua Ross and Briona Reynolds, and 800-meter runner Jessica Marr. “Everyone who is going is right there on the bubble.”
Both Venegas and Bolden have already had a number of athletes qualify for the indoor championships. On the men’s side, senior sprinter Mike Lipscomb and shot putter Scott Wiegand lead a large group of Bruins, while senior pole vaulter Tracy O’Hara leads the women’s squad in its defense of the national title.
Despite the early success, Venegas realizes that his team is at least a year away from being a viable national contender. He believes the experience of the qualifying event in Seattle, and next week’s indoor championships in Fayetteville can only enhance the Bruin’s future prospects.
Conversely, Bolden believes that her team can measure up to its past success and compete for a third straight indoor title.
“Our expectations are not lowered having a young team,” said Bolden. “We have a small group of veterans who are very capable of leading the charge.”