After months of preparation, the UCLA track and field team will finally break into the much anticipated 2003 outdoor season.
Opening the season at home, the Bruins host three schools Saturday at Drake Stadium: Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Los Angeles.
The team has been competing indoors for the last month. This will be the first test for not only the outdoor teams’ status but also for athletes who only compete in the outdoor events like the hammer throw, javelin and steeplechase.
“We will be using this meet to evaluate the outdoor kids for the first time,” men’s head coach Art Venegas said. “This will be the first competition for kids in certain events, and we want to get a feel for where we’re at.”
After winning the MPSF Indoor Championships last week in Boise, the previously unranked men’s team jumped all the way to No. 10 in the nation.
This weekend’s competition should be relatively easy for the men’s team, with threats only coming from Cal Poly’s three Big West Champions: junior John Takahashi (pole vault), senior Tyrone Ward (long jump) and senior Ryan James (javelin). But after coming off last weekend’s big victory over the likes of Stanford and Arizona, the team is hoping the momentum will carry over.
The women’s squad is also expected to win easily this weekend, but the coaching staff is more interested in building a foundation for the rest of the outdoor season.
“We’re looking for a balance from our athletes,” women’s head coach Jeanette Bolden said.
UCLA’s No. 3 women’s squad will also face three Big West Champions, seniors Stephanie Brown (shot put) and Kristin Hall (400-meter hurdles) and junior Maggie Vessey (800m). But after the impressive performance last weekend by Bruin junior Lena Nilsson, who won the 800m, the matchup should favor UCLA.
Events begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, with the women’s hammer throw, and conclude at 4 p.m. with the men’s 4x400m relay.