UCLA Shows Strength at NCAA Prelims
May 28, 2016 | Track & Field
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The UCLA track and field team finished the NCAA West Prelims in exhilarating fashion as the Bruins qualified five more athletes in seven events on Saturday from Rock Chalk Park.
The Bruins put an exclamation point on the meet in the final event of the regional as all three men's shot putters advanced to Eugene and finished in the top four. Senior Nicholas Scarvelis won the region with a throw of 66-4.25. Sophomore Braheme Days followed in third at 65-6 while freshman Dotun Ogundeji catapulted all the way from 17th to fourth on his final attempt with a huge personal best of 62-11.50.
The trio will once again be heading to a national championship as they all participated in the NCAA Indoor National Championships in March.
In the first event on the track the Bruins punched more tickets to Eugene as the women's 4x100m relay of Schuyler Moore, Jessie Maduka, Angie Annelus and Kylie Price clocked a 44.77 to finish third in their heat and automatically qualify for the national meet.
The UCLA throwing squad got off to a nice start on Saturday as both Scarvelis and Ogundeji qualified for the national meet in the discus. Scarvelis finished eighth with a throw of 185-1 while Ogundeji tossed a personal best of 183-9 to place 11th.
In the 200m Annelus came back from the 4x100m relay to clock a personal best and improve her UCLA top-10 time to 23.22 to notch the 12th and final qualifying spot.
The men's 4x100m relay of Eldridge Massington, Kenny Walker, Damion Marshall and Leon Powell placed 17th with a time of 40.40. Sophomore Misana Viltz finished his season 22nd in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.06. Powell clocked a 21.04 to finish 23rd in the 200m.
Senior Ferdinand Edman capped off his stellar UCLA track career by placing 15th in the 1,500m with a time of 3:44.81. Sophomore Daniel De La Torre was 38th in the 5,000m with a time of 14:54.65.
In the field, Idrees Bernard finished 24th in the triple jump with a mark of 50-3.50 while CJ Alumbres did not record a mark. Senior Faith Anumba also fouled all three of her attempts. The women's shot put saw Stamatia Scarvelis (17th) and Torie Owers (18th) both throw 52-7.25 while Ashlie Blake was 33rd at 49-0.25.
The NCAA Championships will be held at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The championships will be held June 8-11.
NCAA Championship Qualifiers
Angie Annelus – 200m/4x100m Relay
Rai Benjamin – 400m Hurdles
Braheme Days – Shot Put
Nick Hartle – 800m
Austin Hazel – Long Jump
Jessie Maduka – Long Jump/4x100m Relay
Schuyler Moore – 4x100m Relay
Dotun Ogundeji – Shot Put/Discus
Kylie Price – Long Jump/4x100m Relay
Nicholas Scarvelis – Shot Put/Discus
Lane Werley – 10,000m
Players Mentioned
