University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Women's Track Team Places Second At USTCA Team Championships
April 24, 2000
Box Score
LOS ANGELES -- The UCLA women placed second, and the Bruin men tied for seventh-place, at the first-ever USTCA National Invitational Team Championships, which concluded Saturday at the Mike A. Myers Track Complex, on the campus of the University of Texas, Austin.
Texas won both the women's (109.50) and men's (103) team titles. In women's competition (14 teams), the Bruins were second with 103 points and rounding out the top five squads were Nebraska (84), South Carolina (82) and LSU (63). In men's competition (14 teams), LSU was second with (86), followed by Texas A & M (81), Nebraska (68) and USC (62). The Bruin men (and Tennessee) tied for seventh, with 52 points.
Individually for the Bruin women, sophomore Tracy O'Hara, from Rancho Bernardo HS in San Diego, shattered the collegiate outdoor pole vault record, winning the competition with a vault of 14-7 1/4 (the old mark was 14-3 1/2, Fresno State's Melissa Price, 1998). O'Hara's clearance moved her to second all-time on the U. S. Outdoor list, trailing only world-record holder Stacy Dragila, who cleared 15-1 in 1999. She was named the Most Outstanding Female Athlete of the Meet. Last March, when the Bruin women won the NCAA Indoor title, O'Hara set the collegiate indoor record with a vault of 14-6.
The women's competition also featured a dominating performance by UCLA senior Seilala Sua, who won the discus on Saturday by more than 38 feet with a stadium record toss of 208-5. On Friday, Sua also won the shot put (54-8) and was sixth in the hammer (193-9).
In men's competition, the Bruins were led by senior Jess Strutzel. Strutzel, who won the 800m at the NCAA Indoor in March, won the men's 800m title on Saturday, with a time of 1:49.66.
The Most Outstanding Male Athlete of the meet was Texas junior Lawrence Armstrong, who both the 100m (10.07w) and 200m titles (20.44w).
Next weekend, the Bruins will compete at the Cal/Nevada Championships in Berkeley.
Women's Team Scoring -- 1. Texas 109.50, 2. UCLA 103, 3. Nebraska 84, 4. South Carolina 82, 5. LSU 63, 6. Kansas St. 61, 7. Washington St. 59, 8. USC 42.50, 9. Texas A & M 39, 10. Houston 33, 11. UTEP 25, 12. Cal Poly-SLO/Purdue 13, 14. Fresno St. 10.
Men's Team Scoring -- 1. Texas 103, 2. LSU 86, 3. Texas A & M 81, 4. Nebraska 68, 5. USC 62, 6. UTEP 53, 7. UCLA/Tennessee 52, 9. Florida 48.50, 10. Washington St. 35, 11. South Carolina 30, 12. Houston 26, 13. Cal Poly-SLO 24, 14. Fresno State 18.50.