LOS ANGELES – UCLA's 2020 indoor track and field season gets underway Friday, Jan. 10 as a group of Bruins throwers will travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., to compete in the NAU Friday Night Duals. The competition is hosted by Northern Arizona University at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome on campus.
The Bruin men enter the year 14th in the first USTFCCCA poll of the indoor season. The 2019 season saw the men's squad finish second at the MPSF Indoor Championships, the team's highest finish since the Bruins won the meet for the second year in a row in 2010. The women's squad finished in 13th place at the league indoor championships last season and checked in at No. 22 in the initial 2020 rankings.
Field events, including the men's and women's shot put competitions, will get underway at 2:00 p.m. MT/1:00 p.m. PT. Men's and women's respective weight throw competitions will subsequently follow the conclusions of the shot put events. Running events will kick off at 4:30 p.m. MT/3:30 p.m. PT with the women's 60m hurdle preliminary heats.
Three-time NCAA Indoor All-American Alyssa Wilson is the lone female entrant for the Bruins this weekend and will compete in the shot put and weight throw competitions. Wilson is coming off a stellar sophomore indoor campaign that saw her finish in fourth place in the shot put (17.38m, 57-00.25) and ninth in the weight throw (20.98, 68-10.00) at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She won six total indoor competitions in 2019, including a sweep of the shot and weight throw at the NAU Friday Night Duals last season. The junior enters the year owning the No. 2 position in the UCLA all-time indoor record books in the shot put (17.73m, 58-02.00) and weight throw (22.73m, 72-11.25).
Sophomore Otito Ogbonnia, junior Nate Esparza, and sophomore Jacob Wilson headline UCLA's returning male throwers and each will be in action on Friday. Ogbonnia will compete in the shot put on Friday and enters his second year as a dual-sport student-athlete for UCLA. He recently finished his sophomore campaign as a defensive lineman for the Bruins' football team, recording 12 tackles and a sack this past season. The Houston native was fourth in the shot put at the 2019 Pac-12 Outdoor Championships (19.59m, 64-03.25) and went on to win the six-kilogram shot put competition at the USATF U20 Championships (June 21-23, 2019), going 21.42m (70-03.50) for the victory.
Esparza is back in the shot put after a 2019 campaign that saw him finish fourth or higher in the shot in all but one indoor meet, including a second-place finish at the New Mexico Classic with an indoor-season best of 18.97m (62-03.00). The redshirt junior owns the No. 7 spot in the UCLA all-time indoor record books in the shot, as he went 19.49m (63-11.50) in his first collegiate indoor meet in January 2018.
Wilson is the only male Bruin competing in the men's shot put and weight throw competitions this weekend. The Clovis, Calif., native made his collegiate debut at the NAU Duals last year, taking third (18.12m, 59-05.50) and fourth (18.41m, 60-05.50) in the shot put and weight throw, respectively.
Making their UCLA field debuts in the shot put Friday will be Kain Medrano and Sean Rhyan. Both throwers are also Bruin football players—Medrano a wide receiver and Rhyan an offensive lineman. Rhyan started all 12 games for the Bruins at left tackle and was named to the national All-Freshman team by Pro Football Focus.
NEXT UP
The Bruins will be back in action on Saturday, January 18 for the UW Indoor Preview. The meet will be held at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle, Wash., on the University of Washington campus.
The Bruin men enter the year 14th in the first USTFCCCA poll of the indoor season. The 2019 season saw the men's squad finish second at the MPSF Indoor Championships, the team's highest finish since the Bruins won the meet for the second year in a row in 2010. The women's squad finished in 13th place at the league indoor championships last season and checked in at No. 22 in the initial 2020 rankings.
Field events, including the men's and women's shot put competitions, will get underway at 2:00 p.m. MT/1:00 p.m. PT. Men's and women's respective weight throw competitions will subsequently follow the conclusions of the shot put events. Running events will kick off at 4:30 p.m. MT/3:30 p.m. PT with the women's 60m hurdle preliminary heats.
Three-time NCAA Indoor All-American Alyssa Wilson is the lone female entrant for the Bruins this weekend and will compete in the shot put and weight throw competitions. Wilson is coming off a stellar sophomore indoor campaign that saw her finish in fourth place in the shot put (17.38m, 57-00.25) and ninth in the weight throw (20.98, 68-10.00) at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She won six total indoor competitions in 2019, including a sweep of the shot and weight throw at the NAU Friday Night Duals last season. The junior enters the year owning the No. 2 position in the UCLA all-time indoor record books in the shot put (17.73m, 58-02.00) and weight throw (22.73m, 72-11.25).
Sophomore Otito Ogbonnia, junior Nate Esparza, and sophomore Jacob Wilson headline UCLA's returning male throwers and each will be in action on Friday. Ogbonnia will compete in the shot put on Friday and enters his second year as a dual-sport student-athlete for UCLA. He recently finished his sophomore campaign as a defensive lineman for the Bruins' football team, recording 12 tackles and a sack this past season. The Houston native was fourth in the shot put at the 2019 Pac-12 Outdoor Championships (19.59m, 64-03.25) and went on to win the six-kilogram shot put competition at the USATF U20 Championships (June 21-23, 2019), going 21.42m (70-03.50) for the victory.
Esparza is back in the shot put after a 2019 campaign that saw him finish fourth or higher in the shot in all but one indoor meet, including a second-place finish at the New Mexico Classic with an indoor-season best of 18.97m (62-03.00). The redshirt junior owns the No. 7 spot in the UCLA all-time indoor record books in the shot, as he went 19.49m (63-11.50) in his first collegiate indoor meet in January 2018.
Wilson is the only male Bruin competing in the men's shot put and weight throw competitions this weekend. The Clovis, Calif., native made his collegiate debut at the NAU Duals last year, taking third (18.12m, 59-05.50) and fourth (18.41m, 60-05.50) in the shot put and weight throw, respectively.
Making their UCLA field debuts in the shot put Friday will be Kain Medrano and Sean Rhyan. Both throwers are also Bruin football players—Medrano a wide receiver and Rhyan an offensive lineman. Rhyan started all 12 games for the Bruins at left tackle and was named to the national All-Freshman team by Pro Football Focus.
NEXT UP
The Bruins will be back in action on Saturday, January 18 for the UW Indoor Preview. The meet will be held at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle, Wash., on the University of Washington campus.