Wednesday, June 7
Eugene, Ore.
All Day
UCLA
at
NCAA Championships
UCLA heads to Historic Hayward Field for the NCAA Championships.
UCLA Eyes Strong Finish at NCAA Championships
June 05, 2017 | Track & Field
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA track and field team will send eleven athletes and a relay squad to the University of Oregon to compete at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships at historic Hayward Field. The meet will kick off in Eugene on Wednesday, June 6, and the full slate of qualifying heats and finals will continue through Saturday.
The Bruins competing in the NCAA Championships are coming off strong performances in the West Regionals at the University of Texas, as they had to withstand strong opposition from some of the best athletes in the country to move on from Austin. Here's a look at the athletes representing UCLA who will be fighting for national titles.
The Bruin javelin throwers wasted no time punching their tickets to Eugene at the NCAA West Prelims.
The international freshmen duo of Simon Litzell (226-10) and Marian Spannowski (226-1) was on display once again as both men launched season bests in Austin to qualify for the championships. On the women's side, senior Zaybree Haury continued her stellar year by qualifying with a 158-7 throw. Her 171-4 lifetime best posted this year against USC is good for the UCLA school record.
Michael Burke will be competing for a national high jump title in Eugene as the sophomore cleared 7-1.75 to finish sixth. Burke's mark of 7-3that he posted during the indoor season is fifth all-time at UCLA.
There will be five Bruin track athletes looking for national titles in their respective individual events.
Sophomore Julia Rizk continues to raise the bar on her performances as she posted yet another lifetime best in the 800-meters at Regionals, running 2:05.02 and sitting comfortably sixth in the UCLA top-10 list.
Senior Austin O'Neil prolonged his UCLA career by qualifying in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:52.50. O'Neil is currently sixth in school history in the event with his time 8:44.86 that he posted in late March at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival.
O'Neil's distance teammate Daniel De La Torre will be competing in the 5,000-meters in Oregon after qualifying with a time of 14:20.57. The junior had a breakout race in April at the Mt. Sac Relays when he ran a lifetime best of 13:46.14, a time that ranks fifth in school history.
The Bruin men will be additionally sending a duo of strong hurdlers to the national meet: sophomore Rai Benjamin and junior Misana Viltz.
Benjamin has been nothing short of brilliant this year, and his performance in Austin was no different. He ran a lifetime best 48.91 in the 400-meter hurdles to punch his ticket to Eugene, a time that ranks fifth on the UCLA top-10. That time also broke the Antigua and Barbuda national record.
Viltz has quietly put together an impressive outdoor season that will be capped off by his first trip to the NCAA Championships. At Regionals, he ran a wind-aided time of 13.68 to move on to Eugene. His wind-legal season best came against USC in late April when he posted an impressive 13.75. That time is ninth on the UCLA top-10 list.
UCLA's top throwers will also be on display at Hayward Field as the sophomore tandem of Dotun Ogundegi, and Ashlie Blake will make the trip north.
Ogundeji is making his second consecutive appearance at the National Championships with his qualification in the discus. He posted a solid throw of 186-3 on his first attempt at Regionals to punch his ticket to Eugene.
Blake will be representing the Bruins in the shot put and is also coming off a strong performance in Austin. She unleased a 57-4.75 personal best throw to qualify for the national meet for the first time in her collegiate career. Her mark is good for eighth in school history.
UCLA's individual event athletes will be accompanied by the men's 4x100 meter relay squad, consisting of Eldridge Massington, Rai Benjamin, Darnell Roberson and Leon Powell. The foursome ran a 39.32 season best at Regionals to move on to Eugene and toe the line for the Bruins. The squad now ranks ninth in school history in the event.
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Javelin
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