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By Christina Teller

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

SACRAMENTO – After countless preliminary, semi-final and final rounds, it has come to a close. The coveted spots have been filled, and the roster has been completed.

With the USA Olympic track and field trials completed on Sunday evening, team USA had been stocked with nine Bruins, both former and current, in eight events.

“I’m so pleased that we had so many Bruins here,” women’s head coach Jeanette Bolden said of the 28 UCLA athletes. “We have the largest contingent of collegiate athletes. It’s a really good feeling when you have so many people doing so well.”

The final weekend of competition was chock-full of noteworthy performances, both on the track and in the field.

Mebrahtom Keflezighi (’98) was the first Bruin to qualify by winning the 10,000-meter run. He set the stage for performances later in the week.

Seilala Sua (’00) followed his triumphant precedent by dominating the discus competition on her first throw of 216-2.

Sua entered the finals ranked fourth on the list, and Suzy Powell (’98) entered in first. With Powell throwing third in the finals, and Sua throwing fourth, the recent graduate was able to watch the veteran.

“I thought it was a big advantage for me because I could see what she was doing,” Sua said.

Not only did Sua surpass Powell’s opening throw and increase her lifetime best by nearly four feet, she nailed the second-longest throw ever in the United States.

“I couldn’t believe it myself,” Sua said. “I’m glad I did it on my first throw.”

“I wanted to win, if that meant throwing 201. I am more than pleased with my throw tonight,” Sua added.

Joining the throwing contingent in Sydney will be Dawn Dumble (’95) in the shot put. Dumble placed third in the final competition with her mark of 57-1. Though junior Christina Tolson and sophomore Chaniqua Ross advanced to the final round, they were unable to finish in the top three with their throws of 52-4 3/4 and 53 3/4 respectively.

Also competing in the throws was John Godina (’95) who finished second in the semi-final round and second in the finals, with his throw of 208-8. Dave Dumble (’97) and Luke Sullivan (’99) did not advance to Sunday’s finals as they finished with throws of 190-9 and 181-10, respectively.

In the spirit of the Olympic trials, sophomore triple jumper Deanna Simmons jumped close to her lifetime best Saturday, but her mark of 43-8 landed her in eighth place.

Continuing to the finals was sophomore Tracy O’Hara, who cleared the qualifying mark of 13-2 1/4 on Friday. Teammates junior Erica Hoernig and sophomore Heather Sickler did not qualify.

O’Hara finished her sophomore season in a two-way tie for sixth at a height of 13-8.5.

Holding true to its traditional hype, the men’s 800m run has been all that and more. Jess Strutzel (‘00) faced three grueling rounds during the trials.

Strutzel entered the semi-final round on Saturday with the seventh-best time, after finishing second in his heat in 1:46.70.

Up against collegiate rival Trinity Gray of Brown in the semis, Strutzel knew the race would be fast-paced and that he would find his position behind Gray.

“We all know he’s going to take it out. I just have to get into good position behind him,” Strutzel said after the preliminaries.

In that semi-final round, Strutzel more than kept up with Gray, passing him in the last 100 meters of the race. Once across the finish line, Strutzel paid his thanks to the crowd with a subtle kiss on his fingers.

“The race went as planned. With 100 meters to go, I passed Trinity, and I knew I had it with 50 meters to go,” Strutzel said.

Entering the finals with the fastest time, Strutzel looked to be in good position for the team, but anything can happen on any given day, as was the case in the 800m final.

Strutzel placed eighth in the finals with a time of 1:47.60, too slow to qualify for the Olympics.

With the final sprint and hurdle races starting on Saturday, some of the best match-ups came at the end of the trials. In the midst of the battle between Marion Jones and Inger Miller, junior Shakedia Jones qualified for the semi-finals, finishing second in her heat behind Miller. Shakedia Jones advanced with her time of 23.25, ranking her ninth for the semis.

Jones missed qualifying for the finals by one-hundredth of a second, and placed ninth in the semi-finals with her time of 22.57, in a heat with both Marion Jones and Miller.

“She was in a tough heat,” Bolden said of the semi-final race. “She would have had to run a lifetime best to make it into the finals. I’m happy for her because she was able to beat collegiate athletes who had beat her during the season. She knows what she needs to work on now.”

Former Bruin Andrea Anderson (’99), fell short of the finals in the 200-meter, finishing 18th on the list with her time of 23.60. She will still be going to Sydney, as she was recently been named to the 4x400m relay team.

The women’s 100m hurdles showcased some of UCLA’s finest. Gail Devers (’88) led the way with her time of 12.33, breaking her own American and trials records.

Though Devers has earned three gold medals, she has never medaled in a hurdles race.

Bisa Grant (’98), Joanna Hayes (‘99) and junior Michelle Perry also competed in the 100-meter hurdles. Grant and Hayes advanced to the finals, but did not qualify for the team. Perry finished her weekend in the preliminaries with a time of 13.72.

“For athletes like Michelle Perry, who have another year of college, they can figure out what they need to work on here. She knows now what it takes,” Bolden said.

In the men’s 200-m, beyond the rivalry between Maurice Green and Michael Johnson dubbed by NBC as the heavyweights, Mike Marsh (’89) and Gentry Bradley (’96) also competed. Bradley’s quest ended Saturday with his 21.19 finish. Marsh moved onto the semi-finals in ninth place with his time of 20.26, but did not qualify for the finals with his time of 20.61 in the semi-final round.

Though not everyone was able to qualify, just being able to compete at the trials is considered an accomplishment in itself.

“I put my arm around the ones who just missed it, and encourage them to keep the faith,” Bolden said.

“You set certain goals out here. Making the finals is a good one, and being the top collegiate is another one. It’s the best track and field meet in the world next to the Olympic Games.”

< BRUIN QUALIFIERS FOR 2000 GAMES Current and former Bruins will compete in the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia starting September 15. Amy Acuff (1997) - High Jump Andrea Anderson (1998) - 4x400 Relay Team Sheila Burrell (1995) - Heptathalon Gail Devers (1988) - 100mH Dawn Dumble (199) - Shot Put John Godina (1995) - Discus Mebrahtom Keflezighi (1998) - 10,000m Suzy Powell (1998) - Discus Seilala Sua (2000) - Discus SOURCE: NBC

Original graphic by ADAM BROWN/Daily Bruin

Web adaptation by CHRISTINE TAN