UCLA
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Landers, Garza and Ramos Earn All-American Honors on Day 3 of NCAA Championships
June 08, 2007 | Track & Field
June 8, 2007
For the second consecutive year, Mike Landers (2nd, pole vault) and Greg Garza (4th, disc) have earned All-American honors while Austin Ramos earned the first track All-American honors of his career with a 10th-place finish in the 5000m at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, CA.
Landers jumped a season-best 17-10.50 to finish second, moving up from his 2006 finish of third-place. Landers ends his career as a two-time All-American and fifth all-time in Bruin history (18-0.50).
On his experience at UCLA
"I've had a great time at UCLA. I'm sad to leave, but very happy with the results. Last year I was third, this year second. To me, that's a positive direction. I had decent attempts at 18-0, but just couldn't clear the bar. I'm ok with finishing second to (Oregon's) Tommy Skipper. He is a phenomenal athlete.
Garza, who was the No. 1-ranked discus thrower in the country finished fourth in one of the most competitive competitions he's ever been in. Garza's mark of 199-4 was just two inches shy of third-place.
Garza, who was the No. 1-ranked discus thrower in the country finished fourth in one of the most competitive competitions he's ever been in. Garza's mark of 199-4 was just two inches shy of third-place.
On the competition
"This was such an awesome competition. It wasn't so much in the first round, but once we got into the final three rounds, everyone started throw 60m or higher and really started to stretch it out. Last year, the winning throw would have gotten maybe sixth-place, so that just shows how competitive this year's discus was."
On his season
"I'm proud of how the season went. It didn't quite finish how I wanted it to, but I posted some big marks, won Pac-10's and earned All-American honors. I can't be too upset with that. TO make the podium here, especially against this type of competition, is great."
Ramos, who was competing in the first track and field final of his career, finished 10th in a race that featured many clumped groups. Ramos ran with the second group for the majority of the race, and ended up 10th in a time of 13:56.32. Today's competition marked the first time since 1998 that a Bruin man had advanced to a 5000m final. Due to the number of foreign runners in the race, Ramos receives All-American honors despite not finishing in the top-eight.
On his race
"I got into really bad position in the middle of the race and I just tried to move up on one runner at a time. By the time I had moved up, the lead group had already broadened the gap and there wasn't enough time to catch up to them.
"I'm disappointed with the finish, but it's my first time at NCAA's, and to come away with All-American honors is pretty good. I'm happy to be disappointed about earning All-American honors."
running in front of the home crowd (he hails from Fair Oaks, CA)
"It was amazing. I don't think there was a stretch of 50m where I didn't hear someone cheering for me. It pumped me up and gave me so much energy to race, especially in that middle portion of the race where I made a mistake."
Distance Coach Eric Peterson on Ramos' race
"Our goal coming into the meet was for Austin to score some points and earn All-American honors. We all felt he could do it and that it was a realistic goal. Despite the fact that he made a tactical error, he still earned All-American honors and I'm proud of him for doing that.
"This was the first season he has been injury free and that was a huge part of his success this season. He has one more year and I know that next season he will be more experience and mature and able to get out of a situation like he was in today."
Also on Friday, Brandon Johnson showed why he is one of the favorites for a title in the 400m hurdles as he won his heat and ran the second-fastest time of the day. His time of 49.51 was a season-best (old best, 49.98) and sets him up nicely for a strong showing on Saturday.
On his race
"I'm really happy about the time. I think tomorrow is going to be even faster because it's a final, but I felt really good today. I'm just going to go back to the hotel, get some sleep and get ready to do it again on Saturday."
Johnson will be the sole competitor for the Bruins on Saturday as the NCAA Championships come to a close. The meet will be televised live on CBS from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.
The Bruins currently stand in 13th-place with 13 points, while Florida State leads with 34 points. Auburn (32), LSU (31), North Carolina (26) and Wisconsin (22) round out the top-five teams.
