W. track: Women’s track hits regionals in full stride

Jeff Eisenberg
Published: Tuesday, June 1, 2004

NORTHRIDGE — Could this be UCLA’s year?

Jeanette Bolden chuckled.

“Winning a championship is tough,” the UCLA women’s coach cautioned, “but we certainly have the personnel to make a run at it.”

The top-ranked Bruins aren’t making any foolish guarantees, but they are confident – and with good reason, after their second straight first place finish Saturday at the NCAA West Regionals.

UCLA automatically qualified 12 athletes and its 4x100-meter relay team for next week’s NCAA Championships, ensuring that Bolden will have a full arsenal at her disposal in Texas when gunning for her first NCAA outdoor title.

“It was a very good weekend for us,” senior Sheena Johnson said.

The weekend went remarkably smoothly for UCLA, which captured six individual event titles and qualified virtually every athlete that has a chance to score next week. Headlining that group will be sprinters Johnson and Monique Henderson, both of whom breezed to victories Saturday.

Johnson, a senior, cracked the 13-second mark in the 100m hurdles for the second-straight meet, winning the race in a speedy 12.85 seconds. The defending NCAA 400m hurdles champion followed that up with a superb effort in her specialty event, taking the crown in 54.91 seconds.

Not to be outdone, Henderson powered her way to the 400m championship in 50.65 seconds, besting a personal record that she had set as a junior in high school. Henderson, whose mark is the second fastest in the United States this year, behind former prep rival Sanya Richards of Texas, was relieved to finally have put the previous mark behind her.

Her collegiate career, disappointing prior to this season, now is headed squarely in the right direction.

“I told Monique that she’s finally got all the monkeys off her back,” Bolden said. “There have been some really mean-spirited things said about her, but she’s just a junior. People tend to forget that.”

Henderson’s and Johnson’s heroics have been the norm over the past two months, but several equally important members of the team were among UCLA’s standout performers.

Sophomore Sheena Gordon shook off the effects of a right-ankle sprain to take first place in the high jump, clearing the bar at a personal best 6 feet, 2 inches.

Junior Jessica Cosby was no less impressive, capturing first place in the hammer throw with a personal best mark of 214-9.

Strong efforts from Bruins Cari Soong in the hammer throw, Ashley Caldwell in the 800m, and Sani Roseby in the 100m and 100m hurdles emphasize what Henderson believes sets this team apart from past UCLA squads.

“It’s the best team I’ve been on since I’ve been here,” Henderson said. “There aren’t any star athletes that we have to rely on. We have a wide range of talent. It’s not any one athlete that’s making the team great.”

The weekend was not without a few setbacks for UCLA, as two Bruins who will be expected to score a bushel of points at the NCAA Championships did not measure up to their own lofty standards.

Cosby, who had been so impressive in the hammer a day earlier, managed just a disappointing third-place finish Saturday in her forte, the shot put.

The once-invincible Chelsea Johnson also didn’t have one of her best days Friday. The NCAA record-holder in the pole vault, Johnson won the event with a mark of just 13 feet and 9 inches – failing to clear 14 feet for the fourth consecutive week.

One reason for the optimism surrounding the program is that Cosby and Johnson still have time to work out the kinks.

With the majority of the squad peaking at the right time, the Bruins seem primed to be in the hunt for the national championship yet again.

But will they win it?

“I’ll tell you that at Nationals,” Bolden said.