LOS ANGELES – The UCLA track and field team will host the annual Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational on Saturday, April 8 at Drake Stadium.
The field event competition will begin with the women's hammer throw at 9 a.m., and the track events will start at 1:15 p.m. with the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
PARTICIPATING TEAMS: The Bruins will compete against a diverse field of universities making the trip to Westwood. UCLA's competition is headlined by the men and 18th ranked women of Oklahoma, as well as Cornell, Utah State, and UC Riverside. Cerritos College, Riverside City College, Central Arizona, and the US Air Force Academy round out the field. The UCLA men moved up in the rankings to No. 12 in the USTFCCCA national poll.
TICKETS: Admission is FREE
HOW TO WATCH: The Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational is coming to Flotrack. FloTrack will provide live coverage of every race, archived videos, and more exclusive content from nationally recognized teams and athletes. Catch all the action and become a FloPRO member today!
On TV: Available on Roku & Apple TV 4
Streaming: Only on FloTrack.com - SIGN UP HERE: http://bit.ly/2k45xn5
RESULTS: Live results will be provided by Finished Results. Download the App to follow all the action on your phone or device or click HERE.
The meet started in 2003, and salutes two of UCLA's greatest champions, Rafer Johnson and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Both are Olympic gold medalists and world-record holders. Johnson won the decathlon in 1960 and set three world records in that event between 1955 and 1960. Joyner-Kersee won the Olympic heptathlon in 1988 and 1992 and the long jump in 1988, and set seven heptathlon world records in all, including her still-standing mark of 7,291, set in 1988.
LAST TIME OUT: UCLA is coming off strong showings at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival and the Legends of Track and Field Invite held at Drake Stadium last weekend, with several Bruins posting nationally ranked marks. Sophomore Rai Benjamin is 11th nationally in the 200-meter-dash with his time of 20.64, while junior Leon Powell is right on his heels at 20.90 to put him 19th in the country.
The Bruin high jumpers also put on an eye-popping display of prowess over the weekend, as freshman Isaiah Holmes and sophomore Michael Burke both cleared heights of 7-2.50 for outdoor personal bests which put them tied for fourth in the country. Not to be outdone by her teammates, freshman Mikella Lefebvre-Oatis won the women's high jump competition by clearing 6-0.75, the best mark in the nation this season. Also in the field, Jessie Maduka jumped 42-6 to rank 12th in the country.
The distance squad was just as formidable in the Distance Carnival. Junior Daniel De La Torre won the men's 5,000-meter competition with a time of 13:57.25 which was good for 12th in the country. Freshman Garrett Reynolds was right behind him in second place with a time of 13:58.39 that is 13th nationally. Senior Austin O'Neil took home the steeplechase victory in his first official entry in the event with a time of 8:44.86, a mark that is second in the nation. Freshman John Carter Blunt's 4:02.06 mile time was converted to a 16th ranked 1,500-meter time of 3:44.13.
NEXT MEET: UCLA will remain at Drake Stadium next weekend for the Jim Bush Collegiate Invitational. The meet will feature national powers Texas A&M, Alabama, UTEP and more.