Justin Stafford looks for his fifth consecutive hammer throw win this weekend at the Pac-12 Championships (photo by Don Liebig)
Photo by: Don Liebig/ASUCLA
Track & Field Heads to Pac-12 Championships
May 09, 2018 | Track & Field
BRUINS HEAD NORTH FOR PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
After UCLA's strong showing last weekend at the Pac-12 Combined Events Championships, the Bruins head back to Palo Alto this weekend, May 12-13, for the full Pac-12 Championships, hosted by Stanford at Cobb Track and Angell Field. Events begin at 11:30 a.m. PDT on Saturday and 10:30 a.m. PDT on Sunday. UCLA will be sending 46 student-athletes to the Conference Championship, 23 men and 23 women.ย
TV COVERAGE
The Pac-12 Championships will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. TV Coverage begins on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PDT, while Sunday's show begins at 3:00 p.m. PDT.ย
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD JUMPS IN RANKINGS
Heading into the second week of postseason action, the women's track and field team jumped up to a season-high No. 20 in the USTFCCCA women's outdoor track and field national rankings and No. 4 in the west regional rankings. The Bruins made their debut in the top-25 of the USTFCCCA poll last week on Apr. 30 at No. 25.ย
GUSTAFSON IMPRESSES AT PAC-12 MULTIS
UCLA senior heptathlete Kendall Gustafson had a performance to remember at the Pac-12 Multis, winning three of seven events and setting three PRs en route to a second-place finish with 5,886 points. Her total heptathlon score ranked second on UCLA's all-time top-10 list, only trailing the legendary Jackie Joyner (6,718, set in 1985). On day one, Gustafson won the high jump with a mark of 1.80m (5-10.75), a career-best and the top mark in that event by a Pac-12 athlete this year. Before the day was up, she also won the shot put (13.08, 42-11) and PR'd in the 100m hurdles (14.08) and 200m dash (25.02). Gustafson's top day-two performance came in the javelin, as each of three attempts went further than any throw from any other athlete in the field. Her top mark was 5.72m (18-9.25). Redshirt sophomore Christina Chenault, the fourth-place finisher in last year's Pac-12 Multis, finished in eighth despite being limited by injuries to just three events this outdoor season, none of which were track events.ย
BRANDT LOOKS TO DEFEND HIS MARK
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 will race in the 10,000m for the first time since Mar. 31 at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival, where he set a collegiate-best time of 29:02.14, a mark which still stands up as the best in the Pac-12 this season. He is the only athlete to rank in the Pac-12's top-five for both the 5,000m and 10,000m races. 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 has had a breakout freshman season, winning eight events (shot put once, discus four times, hammer three times) and finishing top-two in 12 of the 15 events in which she's competed this year (80%). She has notched at least one win in three straight meets, including a triple at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational on Apr. 14. The Jackson, N.J. native ranks top-six league-wide in the discus (55.11m, 180-9.5, third), hammer (62.60m, 205-4.5, fifth), and shot put (17.30m, 56-9, sixth), one of just two athletes who can make that claim. Wilson will compete in each of those three throwing events this weekend.ย
EVENTS TO WATCH: WOMEN'S HIGH JUMP, MEN'S 5000M
UCLA has arguably the deepest stable of competitors in the Pac-12 in both the women's high jump and the men's 5000-meter run. Led by Gustafson's league-high mark of 1.80m (5-10.75) set last week at the Pac-12 Multis, the Bruins have four of the top-10 marks in the women's high jump. Other UCLA jumpers among the top-10 include Mikella Lefebvre-Oatis (1.77m, 5-9.75, third), Kaelin Davis (1.73m, 5-8, ninth), and Lillianna Hebert (1.72m, 5-7.75, 10th). UCLA is the only school with four athletes in the top-10 for the high jump and all but Lefebvre-Oatis will be competing this weekend. Similarly, the Bruins are alone with four runners in the top-17 of the men's 5000m, including Brandt (13:41.23, fifth), Daniel De La Torre (13:54.32, 11th), Colin Burke (13:58.77, 16th), and George Gleason (14:01.35, 17th). De La Torre will be representing the Bruins in the 5000m on Sunday.ย
STAFFORD = CONSISTENCY
Junior thrower Justin Stafford has set a new standard for consistency this year, winning his signature event - the hammer throw - in the last four meets in which he's competed and taking home five event wins overall in six meets. In 2018, Stafford has finished no lower than second place in the hammer (indoor and outdoor combined).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 in the shot put, as her 16.95m (55-7.5) launch ranks 11th nationally. Kendall Gustafson's score of 5,886 at the Pac-12 Combined Events Championships was a lifetime best, the No. 2 mark in UCLA lore, and is the sixth best total in the nation this year. During that heptathlon, Gustafson also notched the No. 22-ranked high jump at 1.80m (5-10.75). Robert Brandt ranks 21st and 22nd, 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).At the USC Dual Meet, senior Jessie Maduka reocrded the sixth-best triple jump in the NCAA this season at 13.62m (44-8.25).
Additionally, eight Bruins have made their way into the UCLA Top-10 list with their performances this season. Most recently, Gustafson had the second-best heptathlon score in school history at the Pac-12 Multis at 5,886, which trails only Jackie Joyner (6,718). At the John Jacobs Invitational, Stafford (64.67m, 212-02, sixth) and Wilson (61.43m, 201-6) 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.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 Sacramento State for the NCAA West Preliminary Round at Hornet Stadium, May 24-26.ย
After UCLA's strong showing last weekend at the Pac-12 Combined Events Championships, the Bruins head back to Palo Alto this weekend, May 12-13, for the full Pac-12 Championships, hosted by Stanford at Cobb Track and Angell Field. Events begin at 11:30 a.m. PDT on Saturday and 10:30 a.m. PDT on Sunday. UCLA will be sending 46 student-athletes to the Conference Championship, 23 men and 23 women.ย
TV COVERAGE
The Pac-12 Championships will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. TV Coverage begins on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PDT, while Sunday's show begins at 3:00 p.m. PDT.ย
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD JUMPS IN RANKINGS
Heading into the second week of postseason action, the women's track and field team jumped up to a season-high No. 20 in the USTFCCCA women's outdoor track and field national rankings and No. 4 in the west regional rankings. The Bruins made their debut in the top-25 of the USTFCCCA poll last week on Apr. 30 at No. 25.ย
GUSTAFSON IMPRESSES AT PAC-12 MULTIS
UCLA senior heptathlete Kendall Gustafson had a performance to remember at the Pac-12 Multis, winning three of seven events and setting three PRs en route to a second-place finish with 5,886 points. Her total heptathlon score ranked second on UCLA's all-time top-10 list, only trailing the legendary Jackie Joyner (6,718, set in 1985). On day one, Gustafson won the high jump with a mark of 1.80m (5-10.75), a career-best and the top mark in that event by a Pac-12 athlete this year. Before the day was up, she also won the shot put (13.08, 42-11) and PR'd in the 100m hurdles (14.08) and 200m dash (25.02). Gustafson's top day-two performance came in the javelin, as each of three attempts went further than any throw from any other athlete in the field. Her top mark was 5.72m (18-9.25). Redshirt sophomore Christina Chenault, the fourth-place finisher in last year's Pac-12 Multis, finished in eighth despite being limited by injuries to just three events this outdoor season, none of which were track events.ย
BRANDT LOOKS TO DEFEND HIS MARK
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 will race in the 10,000m for the first time since Mar. 31 at the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival, where he set a collegiate-best time of 29:02.14, a mark which still stands up as the best in the Pac-12 this season. He is the only athlete to rank in the Pac-12's top-five for both the 5,000m and 10,000m races. 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 has had a breakout freshman season, winning eight events (shot put once, discus four times, hammer three times) and finishing top-two in 12 of the 15 events in which she's competed this year (80%). She has notched at least one win in three straight meets, including a triple at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational on Apr. 14. The Jackson, N.J. native ranks top-six league-wide in the discus (55.11m, 180-9.5, third), hammer (62.60m, 205-4.5, fifth), and shot put (17.30m, 56-9, sixth), one of just two athletes who can make that claim. Wilson will compete in each of those three throwing events this weekend.ย
EVENTS TO WATCH: WOMEN'S HIGH JUMP, MEN'S 5000M
UCLA has arguably the deepest stable of competitors in the Pac-12 in both the women's high jump and the men's 5000-meter run. Led by Gustafson's league-high mark of 1.80m (5-10.75) set last week at the Pac-12 Multis, the Bruins have four of the top-10 marks in the women's high jump. Other UCLA jumpers among the top-10 include Mikella Lefebvre-Oatis (1.77m, 5-9.75, third), Kaelin Davis (1.73m, 5-8, ninth), and Lillianna Hebert (1.72m, 5-7.75, 10th). UCLA is the only school with four athletes in the top-10 for the high jump and all but Lefebvre-Oatis will be competing this weekend. Similarly, the Bruins are alone with four runners in the top-17 of the men's 5000m, including Brandt (13:41.23, fifth), Daniel De La Torre (13:54.32, 11th), Colin Burke (13:58.77, 16th), and George Gleason (14:01.35, 17th). De La Torre will be representing the Bruins in the 5000m on Sunday.ย
STAFFORD = CONSISTENCY
Junior thrower Justin Stafford has set a new standard for consistency this year, winning his signature event - the hammer throw - in the last four meets in which he's competed and taking home five event wins overall in six meets. In 2018, Stafford has finished no lower than second place in the hammer (indoor and outdoor combined).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 in the shot put, as her 16.95m (55-7.5) launch ranks 11th nationally. Kendall Gustafson's score of 5,886 at the Pac-12 Combined Events Championships was a lifetime best, the No. 2 mark in UCLA lore, and is the sixth best total in the nation this year. During that heptathlon, Gustafson also notched the No. 22-ranked high jump at 1.80m (5-10.75). Robert Brandt ranks 21st and 22nd, 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).At the USC Dual Meet, senior Jessie Maduka reocrded the sixth-best triple jump in the NCAA this season at 13.62m (44-8.25).
Additionally, eight Bruins have made their way into the UCLA Top-10 list with their performances this season. Most recently, Gustafson had the second-best heptathlon score in school history at the Pac-12 Multis at 5,886, which trails only Jackie Joyner (6,718). At the John Jacobs Invitational, Stafford (64.67m, 212-02, sixth) and Wilson (61.43m, 201-6) 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.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 Sacramento State for the NCAA West Preliminary Round at Hornet Stadium, May 24-26.ย
Players Mentioned
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Multi
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Pole Vault
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