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Weary, weak-legged and increasingly short of breath, UCLA’s Jessica Cosby had every reason to surrender to the effects of a bout of pneumonia and withdraw from the shot put competition on Saturday. But with a berth to next week’s NCAA Championships hanging in the balance, Cosby, a senior, would not quit. She took three throws, qualifying for NCAAs by finishing second in the shot put with a mark of 54 feet, 1 1/2 inches, before being rushed to the hospital, where doctors gave her an oxygen tank to help her breathing. “Jessica’s our hero,” UCLA coach Jeanette Bolden said. “That was what athletics is all about. When you feel the weakest, that’s when you shine the most.” Had the NCAA not tweaked the format of the Regional meets this year, Cosby probably would have sat out Saturday. She would have qualified for the NCAA Championships in previous years due to her season-best mark in the shot put, but this season, athletes must finish in the top eight at Regionals to have a chance at earning an at-large bid in their events. That’s why Cosby, who was diagnosed with pneumonia before she left for Oregon last week, never considered not competing once UCLA’s team doctors cleared her to throw. And compete she did. Cosby, a national title contender in both the shot put and the hammer throw, took first place in the hammer competition on Friday with a throw of 213 feet, 11 inches, just a few feet shy of her lifetime best. But as she took her warm-up throws in the shot put on Saturday, it was clear the pneumonia had begun to take its toll. Once UCLA throws coach Art Venegas was confident she had done enough to qualify for NCAAs, he pulled her out of the competition. “She was pretty angry,” Venegas said, “but it was a coach’s call. I could tell right away that she was not at her best. I didn’t like the way she looked out there.” The effort from Cosby was a source of inspiration for her teammates. “When I turned to cheer her on, I saw the fight and desire in her eyes,” said fellow co-captain Candice Baucham, who was competing in the triple jump next to Cosby in the shot put. “To see her do that is to know you can count on her,” hurdler Dawn Harper added. The Bruins will be counting on Cosby once again next week at NCAAs, whether she is at full strength or not. Cosby will enter both the hammer and the shot put, and hopes to score big in both of them.

NO DOUBLE DUTY: UCLA’s Monique Henderson, perhaps the most versatile collegiate sprinter in the nation, will focus only on the 400 meters at NCAAs next week. Henderson, who won the 200 meters at the West Regionals on Saturday in a season-best 22.71 seconds, was projected to contend in the event at NCAAs. But Bolden and Henderson talked and agreed that it wasn’t worth risking an injury that could hamper the senior in the 400 meters either at NCAAs or a few weeks later at the U.S. National Championships. “My decision was based on her ability to stay healthy,” Bolden said. “I wasn’t really comfortable with her health after Regionals. It was nothing outrageous, but she was a little tighter than I would have liked to see.”

INJURY UPDATE: UCLA’s Lara Saye, a would-be contender for the national title in the discus, has been hampered by a back injury in recent weeks and was not at her best again Saturday. Saye, No. 3 on the national charts heading into the meet, managed only a throw of 170 feet, 2 inches, enough for fourth place at the West Regionals and a berth to the NCAA Championships next week. The mark, however, was nearly 20 feet shy of her personal best and likely would not score at NCAAs. “She’s starting to get healthy and I thought it would show on Saturday,” Venegas said. “It didn’t, but I’m still optimistic she can get her rhythm back in time for NCAAs.”