University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Beach Opener
Bruins Open Outdoor Campaign With Two Wins at Beach Opener
March 07, 2026 | Track & Field
LONG BEACH, Calif. โ Sydney Johnson (women's long jump) and Hannah Slover (women's high jump) each captured event wins to lead UCLA at the 2026 Beach Opener in the squad's first meet of the outdoor season.
Besides those two wins, the Bruins had five other top-three finishes for a two-day total of seven medalists.
Thrower Derek Smith just missed out on becoming the lone Bruin with a pair of top-three finishes, as he was third in the men's shot put (17.03m / 57-8.25) but finished fourth in the discus despite establishing a new personal best at 52.47m (172-1). Likewise, Johnson was fourth in the women's 200m (24.23).
Grad transfer Maya Rush was the Bruins' big standout on day one of the meet, as she reached a mark of 46.51m (152-7) in the women's javelin on Friday afternoon. That mark was good for third place at the meet and put her at No. 9 in UCLA history.
Smith and Slover were the Bruins' standouts on Saturday morning, earning top-three finishes in the SP and HJ.
Slover had a max clearance of 1.73m (5-8) to notch her first-collegiate event win. Right behind her was teammate Amia Witt whose mark of 1.66m (5-5.25) earned a second-place result.
Next up was Johnson, who picked up the gold medal in the long jump with a mark of 6.18m (20-3.5). She was the only entrant to break six meters. Freshman Dior Scholz placed fourth in that event at 5.50m (17-6-75) in her Bruin debut.
Johnson and Ameen Tokhi were UCLA's standouts in the sprints, with the latter posting a PB at 10.44 to finish fifth in the men's 100m dash.
Terrence Sweetman (14.59m / 47-10.5) and Mackenzie Kirk (12.45m / 40-10.25) closed out the weekend for the Bruins by finishing third in their respective triple jumps.
UCLA returns to action next week at a pair of competitions, with seven qualifiers heading to Fayetteville, Ark. for the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships on Mar. 13-14 and a small group of Bruins trekking south for the Aztec Coastal Classic in San Diego on Mar. 13.
Players Mentioned
