Sunday, April 29
Los Angeles, Calif.
9:00 am
UCLA
vs
USC
Marian Spannowsky set a new PR in the men's javelin (70.54m) at UCLA's last home meet
UCLA Hosts USC in Final Meet of Regular Season
April 27, 2018 | Track & Field
BRUINS HOST CROSSTOWN RIVAL USC IN DUAL MEET
This week, UCLA hosts crosstown rival USC for a dual meet at Drake Stadium. The meet will serve as the final regular season contest for both teams before the start of Pac-12 Championships next week. USC enters the weekend ranked No. 2 in USTFCCCA poll on the women's side and No. 9 on the men's side.ย
LAST WEEK ย ย
UCLA split its squad last week, with several distance runners heading to the Mt. SAC Relays - held at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif. - while the bulk of the squad traveled to Norman, Okla. for the John Jacobs Invitational, hosted by the University of Oklahoma. Over the two meets, UCLA captured four event wins while the team set a slew of individual PRs. At the two meets, UCLA took home the top result in the men's javelin (AK Turner, 59.93m), women's discus (Alyssa Wilson, 51.56m), men's 400m (Joe Herrera, 47.34), and men's hammer (Justin Stafford, 64.67m). On the final day of the John Jacobs Invite, the Bruins posted a total of 11 top-five finishes.
ย
BRANDT BREAKS OUT IN THE 5000M
Junior distance runner Robert Brandt had a performance to remember at the Mt. SAC Relays, finishing seventh in the 5000m with a time of 13:41.23. That time established a new PR and topped his previous UCLA-best by over 12 seconds. in addition, he entered UCLA's all-time top-10 in the 5000m at third place. This week, Brandt is slated to make his outdoor UCLA debut in both the 1500m and 3000m runs. A Pasadena native, Brandt was UCLA's top finisher in three of the four races he ran in the 2017 cross country season.ย
WILSON KEEPS GOING STRONG
Thrower Alyssa Wilson continued a breakout freshman season last week, winning the discus for the third time this season and finishing second in both the hammer and shot put. Though she didn't win the event, arguably her most impressive performance came in the hammer, as she set a UCLA freshman record with a launch of 61.43m (201-6). That mark also ranks sixth on UCLA's all-time outdoor top-10 list. A Jackson, N.J. native, Wilson has six event wins over four meets since Mar. 31.ย
STAFFORD = CONSISTENCY
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but junior thrower Justin Stafford once again won the men's hammer throw last week at the John Jacobs Invitational. His new-PR throw of 64.67m (212-2) gave him the win in the hammer for the third consecutive time he's competed and the fourth time overall this season. In 2018, Stafford has finished no lower than second place in the hammer.ย
SIX BRUINS POST NEW SEASON-BEST MARKS
Six different athletes set new 2018-bests by a Bruin last week. New standards were set in men's shot put (Kai Wong, 16.21m), men's hammer (Stafford, 64.67m), women's 1500m (Christina Rice, 4:31.00), women's 5000m (16:39.02), women's pole vault (Greta Wagner, 4.00m), and women's hammer (Wilson, 61.43m).ย
KELLY NABS UCLA MEN'S TRACK'S FIRST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
UCLA sophomore middle-distance runner Riley Kelly was named the Pac-12 men's track Athlete of the Week on Apr. 17. Kelly, a native of Brisbane, Australia, set a new PR in the 800m at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational, finishing the race with a time of 1:49.41.That mark is the best in the 800m by a Bruin this year, fourth-best by a Pac-12 runner, and 17th best by a Western region athlete in the 2018 outdoor season. Kelly has improved his 800m time in each of the five times he's competed in the event in 2018, going from a 1:51.83 time on Jan. 27 to Saturday's sub-1:50 mark. He is UCLA's first recipient of a men's track weekly honor since Arturo Sotomayor was tabbed on Apr. 11, 2017.
SEVENTEEN EARN MPSF ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
The UCLA track and field team placed 17 student-athletes on the MPSF Indoor Track and Field All-Academic teams for 2018. Ten women were named to the squad - redshirt junior pole vaulter Elleyse Garrett, senior pentathlete Kendall Gustafson, senior sprinter/jumper Jessie Maduka, senior hurdler Pattriana Perry, senior sprinter Jelvon Butler, senior jumper Efe Agege, redshirt junior high jumper Kaelin Davis, sophomore high jumper Mikella Lefebvre-Oatis, and redshirt freshmen distance runners Claire Markey and Kelly Bernd. Garrett and Maduka each received their third career honor, while Gustafson, Perry and Butler earned their second.
Seven UCLA men received all-academic honors, including six distance runners in senior Daniel De La Torre, redshirt junior Scott Snow, redshirt sophomore George Gleason, sophomores Riley Kelly and Millen Trujillo, and redshirt freshman Chris Morzenti. Joining them is redshirt freshman thrower Nate Esparza. Snow, Gleason and Trujillo earned their second consecutive all-academic honors.
SEVEN BRUINS POST TOP-25 MARKS
Seven Bruins have posted Top-25 national marks this season. Junior Ashlie Blake holds the third-best shot put in the country at 17.73m (58-2), a mark she set in an event victory at the Jim Bush Legends Invite. Wilson also ranks top-10 in the shot put, as her 16.95m (55-7.5) launch ranks 10th nationally. Kendall Gustafson compiled 5,691 points in the heptathlon at the season-opening Aztec Invitational, a lifetime-best total that is currently the 12th-best mark in the nation. At the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival, junior George Gleason (4:05.69) and sophomore Carter Blunt (4:06.31) posted the sixth and eighth-best mile times in the country, respectively, at the time of the event. Robert Brandt ranks 16th and 17th, respectively, in the 10000m (29:02.14) and the 5000m (13:41.23). Marian Spannowsky has the 15th-best javelin throw this year at 70.54m (231-5).
Additionally, eight Bruins have made their way into the UCLA Top-10 list with their performances this season. Most recently, Stafford (64.67m, 212-02, sixth) and Wilson (61.43m, 201-6) at the John Jacobs Invitational set the No. 6 best throws all-time in the hammer. Marian Spannowsky's entered the top-10 at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational with a 70.54m (231-05) javelin throw, which ranks eighth. Ilaria Casarotto had the No. 4 women's javelin throw in program history at 48.17m (158-0.25) at the same meet. Robert Brandt posted the No. 3 5000m time (13:41.23) at the Mt. SAC Relays and No. 6 all-time mark in the 10,000m with a 29:02.14 at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival. Also at that meet, Christina Rice posted the No. 6 mark in the 10,000m on the women's side with a 34:49.87. Ashlie Blake's 17.73m (58-2) shotput throw at the Jim Bush Legends Invitational ranks No. 5 all-time. At the Aztec Invitational, Kendall Gustafson recorded a heptathlon score of 5691 which ranks No. 7 overall.ย
INDOOR RECAP
UCLA finished the indoor season with five All-America honors and a 27th-place finish for the women at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Senior Jessie Maduka earned first-team All-America acclaim in the triple jump with a third-place finish at the NCAAs after a UCLA indoor school record jump of 13.81m (45-03.75). Maduka also won the MPSF Indoor triple jump title. Junior Ashlie Blake also made it to the podium, placing seventh in the shot put with a throw of 17.07m (56-0). Receiving second-team All-America acclaim were freshman Alyssa Wilson in the shot put (14th overall) and redshirt freshman Nate Esparza (12th) and Dotun Ogundeji (13th).ย
At the MPSF Championships, the Bruin men placed fourth, while the women were fifth. UCLA captured four event titles, with Isaiah Holmes winning the long jump, Kendall Gustafson winning the pentathlon with a school record point total of 4084, Maduka winning the triple jump, and the men's squad of Scott Snow, Darnell Roberson, Riley Kelly and Carter Blunt winning the distance medley relay. ย ย
ย ย ย ย ย ย
ANDERSON BEGINS FIRST SEASON ย
UCLA graduate and track and field/football alumnus Avery Anderson is in his first year as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, having assumed the position on July 6, 2017. Anderson returned to his alma mater after spending nearly 13 years in various coaching roles at CSUN, including the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country from July 2011-July 2017. Prior to coaching at CSUN, Anderson was a volunteer assistant track coach at Kansas State from 2002-04 and at UCLA from 2001-02. During his tenure at CSUN, Anderson led Matador student-athletes to 13 team conference championship titles, 91 individual conference championship titles and 21 NCAA All-America honors. He established a conference record for team championship titles, was named the Big West Conference Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2015, and coached the only individual male NCAA Division I champions in CSUN history, in any sport, long jumpers Dashalle Andrews and Reindell Cole. ย ย
LOOKING AHEAD ย ย
After this week's away meets, the Bruins travel to Stanford on consecutive weekends for the Pac-12 Multi-Events Championship (May 5-6) and the Pac-12 Championships (May 12-13). NCAA Regionals begin on May 24 in Sacramento, Calif.ย
This week, UCLA hosts crosstown rival USC for a dual meet at Drake Stadium. The meet will serve as the final regular season contest for both teams before the start of Pac-12 Championships next week. USC enters the weekend ranked No. 2 in USTFCCCA poll on the women's side and No. 9 on the men's side.ย
LAST WEEK ย ย
UCLA split its squad last week, with several distance runners heading to the Mt. SAC Relays - held at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif. - while the bulk of the squad traveled to Norman, Okla. for the John Jacobs Invitational, hosted by the University of Oklahoma. Over the two meets, UCLA captured four event wins while the team set a slew of individual PRs. At the two meets, UCLA took home the top result in the men's javelin (AK Turner, 59.93m), women's discus (Alyssa Wilson, 51.56m), men's 400m (Joe Herrera, 47.34), and men's hammer (Justin Stafford, 64.67m). On the final day of the John Jacobs Invite, the Bruins posted a total of 11 top-five finishes.
ย
BRANDT BREAKS OUT IN THE 5000M
Junior distance runner Robert Brandt had a performance to remember at the Mt. SAC Relays, finishing seventh in the 5000m with a time of 13:41.23. That time established a new PR and topped his previous UCLA-best by over 12 seconds. in addition, he entered UCLA's all-time top-10 in the 5000m at third place. This week, Brandt is slated to make his outdoor UCLA debut in both the 1500m and 3000m runs. A Pasadena native, Brandt was UCLA's top finisher in three of the four races he ran in the 2017 cross country season.ย
WILSON KEEPS GOING STRONG
Thrower Alyssa Wilson continued a breakout freshman season last week, winning the discus for the third time this season and finishing second in both the hammer and shot put. Though she didn't win the event, arguably her most impressive performance came in the hammer, as she set a UCLA freshman record with a launch of 61.43m (201-6). That mark also ranks sixth on UCLA's all-time outdoor top-10 list. A Jackson, N.J. native, Wilson has six event wins over four meets since Mar. 31.ย
STAFFORD = CONSISTENCY
Stop me if you've heard this one before, but junior thrower Justin Stafford once again won the men's hammer throw last week at the John Jacobs Invitational. His new-PR throw of 64.67m (212-2) gave him the win in the hammer for the third consecutive time he's competed and the fourth time overall this season. In 2018, Stafford has finished no lower than second place in the hammer.ย
SIX BRUINS POST NEW SEASON-BEST MARKS
Six different athletes set new 2018-bests by a Bruin last week. New standards were set in men's shot put (Kai Wong, 16.21m), men's hammer (Stafford, 64.67m), women's 1500m (Christina Rice, 4:31.00), women's 5000m (16:39.02), women's pole vault (Greta Wagner, 4.00m), and women's hammer (Wilson, 61.43m).ย
KELLY NABS UCLA MEN'S TRACK'S FIRST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
UCLA sophomore middle-distance runner Riley Kelly was named the Pac-12 men's track Athlete of the Week on Apr. 17. Kelly, a native of Brisbane, Australia, set a new PR in the 800m at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational, finishing the race with a time of 1:49.41.That mark is the best in the 800m by a Bruin this year, fourth-best by a Pac-12 runner, and 17th best by a Western region athlete in the 2018 outdoor season. Kelly has improved his 800m time in each of the five times he's competed in the event in 2018, going from a 1:51.83 time on Jan. 27 to Saturday's sub-1:50 mark. He is UCLA's first recipient of a men's track weekly honor since Arturo Sotomayor was tabbed on Apr. 11, 2017.
SEVENTEEN EARN MPSF ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
The UCLA track and field team placed 17 student-athletes on the MPSF Indoor Track and Field All-Academic teams for 2018. Ten women were named to the squad - redshirt junior pole vaulter Elleyse Garrett, senior pentathlete Kendall Gustafson, senior sprinter/jumper Jessie Maduka, senior hurdler Pattriana Perry, senior sprinter Jelvon Butler, senior jumper Efe Agege, redshirt junior high jumper Kaelin Davis, sophomore high jumper Mikella Lefebvre-Oatis, and redshirt freshmen distance runners Claire Markey and Kelly Bernd. Garrett and Maduka each received their third career honor, while Gustafson, Perry and Butler earned their second.
Seven UCLA men received all-academic honors, including six distance runners in senior Daniel De La Torre, redshirt junior Scott Snow, redshirt sophomore George Gleason, sophomores Riley Kelly and Millen Trujillo, and redshirt freshman Chris Morzenti. Joining them is redshirt freshman thrower Nate Esparza. Snow, Gleason and Trujillo earned their second consecutive all-academic honors.
SEVEN BRUINS POST TOP-25 MARKS
Seven Bruins have posted Top-25 national marks this season. Junior Ashlie Blake holds the third-best shot put in the country at 17.73m (58-2), a mark she set in an event victory at the Jim Bush Legends Invite. Wilson also ranks top-10 in the shot put, as her 16.95m (55-7.5) launch ranks 10th nationally. Kendall Gustafson compiled 5,691 points in the heptathlon at the season-opening Aztec Invitational, a lifetime-best total that is currently the 12th-best mark in the nation. At the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival, junior George Gleason (4:05.69) and sophomore Carter Blunt (4:06.31) posted the sixth and eighth-best mile times in the country, respectively, at the time of the event. Robert Brandt ranks 16th and 17th, respectively, in the 10000m (29:02.14) and the 5000m (13:41.23). Marian Spannowsky has the 15th-best javelin throw this year at 70.54m (231-5).
Additionally, eight Bruins have made their way into the UCLA Top-10 list with their performances this season. Most recently, Stafford (64.67m, 212-02, sixth) and Wilson (61.43m, 201-6) at the John Jacobs Invitational set the No. 6 best throws all-time in the hammer. Marian Spannowsky's entered the top-10 at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational with a 70.54m (231-05) javelin throw, which ranks eighth. Ilaria Casarotto had the No. 4 women's javelin throw in program history at 48.17m (158-0.25) at the same meet. Robert Brandt posted the No. 3 5000m time (13:41.23) at the Mt. SAC Relays and No. 6 all-time mark in the 10,000m with a 29:02.14 at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival. Also at that meet, Christina Rice posted the No. 6 mark in the 10,000m on the women's side with a 34:49.87. Ashlie Blake's 17.73m (58-2) shotput throw at the Jim Bush Legends Invitational ranks No. 5 all-time. At the Aztec Invitational, Kendall Gustafson recorded a heptathlon score of 5691 which ranks No. 7 overall.ย
INDOOR RECAP
UCLA finished the indoor season with five All-America honors and a 27th-place finish for the women at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Senior Jessie Maduka earned first-team All-America acclaim in the triple jump with a third-place finish at the NCAAs after a UCLA indoor school record jump of 13.81m (45-03.75). Maduka also won the MPSF Indoor triple jump title. Junior Ashlie Blake also made it to the podium, placing seventh in the shot put with a throw of 17.07m (56-0). Receiving second-team All-America acclaim were freshman Alyssa Wilson in the shot put (14th overall) and redshirt freshman Nate Esparza (12th) and Dotun Ogundeji (13th).ย
At the MPSF Championships, the Bruin men placed fourth, while the women were fifth. UCLA captured four event titles, with Isaiah Holmes winning the long jump, Kendall Gustafson winning the pentathlon with a school record point total of 4084, Maduka winning the triple jump, and the men's squad of Scott Snow, Darnell Roberson, Riley Kelly and Carter Blunt winning the distance medley relay. ย ย
ย ย ย ย ย ย
ANDERSON BEGINS FIRST SEASON ย
UCLA graduate and track and field/football alumnus Avery Anderson is in his first year as the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, having assumed the position on July 6, 2017. Anderson returned to his alma mater after spending nearly 13 years in various coaching roles at CSUN, including the Director of Track & Field and Cross Country from July 2011-July 2017. Prior to coaching at CSUN, Anderson was a volunteer assistant track coach at Kansas State from 2002-04 and at UCLA from 2001-02. During his tenure at CSUN, Anderson led Matador student-athletes to 13 team conference championship titles, 91 individual conference championship titles and 21 NCAA All-America honors. He established a conference record for team championship titles, was named the Big West Conference Women's Track & Field Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2015, and coached the only individual male NCAA Division I champions in CSUN history, in any sport, long jumpers Dashalle Andrews and Reindell Cole. ย ย
LOOKING AHEAD ย ย
After this week's away meets, the Bruins travel to Stanford on consecutive weekends for the Pac-12 Multi-Events Championship (May 5-6) and the Pac-12 Championships (May 12-13). NCAA Regionals begin on May 24 in Sacramento, Calif.ย
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