W. track slow out of blocks

Published: Thursday, May 30, 1996

Thursday, May 30, 1996

No bright spots for UCLA as Powell is upset again in discusBy Scott Yamaguchi

Daily Bruin Staff

Suzy Powell might as well be struck by lightning each time she steps into the discus ring.

Twice in the past two weeks, the UCLA sophomore has entered the throwing circle with some sort of championship on the line, and both times, she has been upset by an underdog competitor who hurls the throw of her life.

On Wednesday, it was Northern Arizona University's Anna Soderberg, who surpassed Powell with a lifetime-best 195-feet, 3-inches to win the NCAA women's discus title in Eugene, Ore. Powell threw 193-7 for the second-place finish, while Washington's Aretha Hill who shocked Powell at the Pacific 10 Championships two weeks ago was four feet behind Powell in third place.

Before the NCAA meet, Soderberg's best mark of the season was a 188-8, which ranked her third behind Powell's 196-5 and Hill's 195-9.

"We had another girl get another world, out-of-body experience throw against Suzy, and so Suzy ended up second," UCLA throwing coach Art Venegas said. "Anna Soderberg, the fifth-year thrower from Northern Arizona, from Sweden, caught the big throw in the third round.

"Suzy's first three throws were excellent, but then she had a huge, long wait and she couldn't quite get it going after that."

Powell's disappointment was not the only one of the day for the Bruins, who failed to advance any of their other three competitors out of Wednesday's preliminary rounds.

Nada Kawar ended up 12th in the discus competition with a mark of 167-2 while Joanna Hayes finished the 400-meter hurdles in 59.20 seconds (14th overall) and did not advance to Friday's final. Andrea Anderson finished the 200 meters in 24.25 (19th overall) and did not advance to Friday's semifinal round of 16.

Neither Hayes nor Anderson improved on their season-best times, but both finished the competition higher than they were initially seeded.

Today, senior Valeyta Althouse will be looking to add to UCLA's eight points with a successful defense of her shot-put title. Althouse, whose season-best 60-10 3/4 makes her the clear favorite, will be joined in the competition by Kawar.

"Nada was having trouble with her form, and she folded a little bit in the discus competition," Venegas said. "But she says she feels pretty confident about doing a better job in the shot put."

Hayes will compete in the preliminary round of the 100-meter hurdles today, where she has run the ninth-fastest time in the NCAA this year. Darlene Malco will run the semifinal of the 400 meters, where she has also posted the ninth-best time in the nation this season.