LOS ANGELES – The UCLA track and field team will send four individuals and the distance medley relay to the NCAA Indoor Championships. The two-day meet will begin on Friday, March 11 and will be held in the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala.
With the selection of the four Bruins and the DMR into the NCAA field, UCLA catapulted up into the USTFCCCA pre-national rankings by checking in this week at No. 18 in the country.
Three of the 16 shot putters that will be competing will be wearing UCLA across their chests. Senior Nicholas Scarvelis enters the competition with the third best mark in the country at 66-9.75. That throw ranks fifth all-time on the prestigious UCLA shot put list. Joining Scarvelis is sophomore Braheme Days who holds the ninth best throw in the field at 63-9.75 and freshman Dotun Ogundeji sports the 16th best throw at 62-5.75. The last time a single program showcased three athletes in the top-16 in the shot put was in 2012.
On top of Days and Ogundeji making their NCAA Indoor Championship debuts, sophomore Steele Wasik punched his ticket with a record breaking performance in the heptathlon. Wasik broke the UCLA and MPSF Championship meet record with a score of 5,783 points. His score ranks ninth in the country as he set personal bests in five of the seven events.
The men's school record breaking distance medley relay team will return to the national meet for the first time since placing sixth overall in 2010. The quartet of seniors Ferdinand Edman, Nick Hartle and Austin O'Neil and sophomore Joe Herrera clocked a record breaking time of 9:29.61 at the Alex Wilson Invite to rank 10th in the country.
The outdoor season will begin on Tuesday, March 22 when the Bruins host Arizona and Washington State at the Jim Bush Collegiate Invitational. The meet will air live on Pac-12 Networks from Drake Stadium.
UCLA NCAA Championships Schedule
Friday, March 11
Steele Wasik – Heptathlon (10 a.m)
Distance Medley Relay (6:45 p.m.)
Saturday, March 12
Steele Wasik – Heptathlon (10 a.m)
Nicholas Scarvelis – Shot Put (Noon)
Braheme Days – Shot Put (Noon)
Dotun Ogundeji – Shot Put (Noon)
All times Pacific