LOS ANGELES – The UCLA track and field team will spend the opening weekend of Spring Break in Tempe, Ariz., for the Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Challenge. The meet is scheduled to start on Friday, March 24 with most of the meet set for Saturday, March 25 and will be held on the Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium.
The Bruins will face a talented field in host Arizona State, Arizona, Cal, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska and Penn State. In the preseason USTFCCCA poll, the Nebraska men rank 15th while the women are No. 18. The Michigan women check in at 21st while the Bruin men are 18th in the initial poll.
For UCLA, the men's javelin will kick off the meet on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The women's javelin will follow at 6 p.m. The javelin will be the lone event for the Bruins on the first day.
Saturday begins with the discus at 2:30 p.m. while the women's 100m hurdles gets the track portion going at 6:15 p.m.
The Bruins opened the outdoor season at Long Beach State on March 4 and already put together personal best performances.
In one of the first field events of the outdoor season, senior Zaybree Haury launched a school record and huge personal best with a throw of 168-3 (51.28m). Haury entered the meet with a personal best of 160-0 and used the eight-foot lifetime best to take down the school record of 166-1 set by Tara Ross in 2009.
The mark by Haury set the tone for the rest of the meet as several Bruins followed suit with personal bests. In the women's shot put, sophomore Ashlie Blake uncorked a lifetime best throw of 54-8.25 (16.67m) to win the event. She also won the discus with a throw of 154-11.
The men's high jump proved to be one of the highlights of the meet as freshman Isaiah Holmes, and senior Sage Stone cleared personal bests on consecutive jumps. Both cleared 7-1.50 as Holmes eventually won the competition on misses at that height.
Junior Elleyse Garrett continued her strong 2017 in the pole vault as she cleared an outdoor personal-best at 13-5.25. Junior Riley Turner was second in the men's event at 15-3.
The Bruins showed some early season speed in the sprints. UCLA had no problem getting the baton around in the men's 4x100m relay in a time of 40.09. Sophomore Rai Benjamin, who ran the second leg on the relay, later won the 100m with a time of 10.40 (+3.1). UCLA later won the 4x100m at 3:12.28.
UCLA will host its first home meet of the outdoor season, beginning with the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival on Friday, March 31. The Legends Invitational will begin on Friday and go through Saturday, April 1.