NCAA Track and Field Championships : Cal State LA’s Mosqueda Shatters Record in Women’s 10,000 Meters

Sylvia Mosqueda was sort of a mystery runner when she entered the Los Angeles Marathon unannounced in 1986 and ran 19 miles before she dropped out on what she said was a training run.

She was also the marathon leader in the Olympic trials for women last May 1 for 18 miles in Pittsburgh when she had to drop out.

But Mosqueda, who finished second in the 1987 L.A. Marathon, wasn’t a dropout in cold, drizzling weather Wednesday night at Hayward Field in the women’s 10,000-meter race of the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. championship meet.

The Cal State Los Angeles runner led from the outset of the race and lapped at least half the field, winning in the NCAA meet and collegiate record time of 32 minutes 28.57 seconds.

“I wasn’t going for a record, I just wanted to win,” said Mosqueda almost an hour after the race, as she was detained in drug testing. “My coach, Greg Ryan, began shouting at me with a lap to go about the record.”

It was only Mosqueda’s third 10,000-meter race on a track, and she performed like a veteran.

“This time, I played it smart,” she said.

Mosqueda, 22, said she had the chicken pox in February and that she didn’t have the stamina to finish the marathon trials. She said she might have been able to go on, but didn’t want to risk injury.

Mosqueda isn’t through running here. She plans to add the 5,000 title to her 10,000 victory on Saturday. She’ll run the 10,000 again in the Olympic trials July 15-23 in Indianapolis.

So it’s a second chance to go to Seoul for the 5-foot 5-inch, 120-pound runner from San Gabriel High School.

The women’s 10,000 meters was the only final held Wednesday night as wind, intermittent rain and 50-degree temperature early in the evening didn’t seem inhibit the competitors.

USC’s Wendy Brown was the first-day leader in the women’s heptathlon with 3,466 points.

Brown was also competing in the open long jump at the same time. She got two jumps in before she had to hustle to the starting line for the start of the heptathlon 200. Then, as tired as she was, she still had to take her last jump in the long jump competition. And she qualified for the final.

“I’m pretty happy with everything that I did today except for the hurdles,” said Brown, who was bucking a strong headwind in her 100-meter hurdles race and recorded a time of 14.60 seconds.

“I think it will be tough to get 6,000 points, but I believe I can get 5,900,” the USC senior said.

Heptathlon competition will conclude today with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters. Brown summarized her day as decent and she established a personal heptathlon record of 43-3 3/4 in the shotput.

Otherwise, the favored UCLA men’s and women’s teams got through the opening day of the trials without any consequential setbacks in their quest for the team championship.

Henry Thomas won his 200 heat in 20.24. Kevin Young also won his 400-intermediate hurdles heat in 48.71, equaling the best time in the world this year that he recorded at the recent Pacific 10 conference meet, and the UCLA 400-meter relay team blazed to a time 38.79 in winning its trial race.

It should be a fast final Friday with Texas Christian also running 38.79 and Texas A&M; coming in at 38.71.

The UCLA women’s team, with Gail Devers leading the way, didn’t stumble despite weather conditions that weren’t ideally suited for track.

Devers led all qualifiers in the long jump at 21-10 3/4, and anchored the 400-meter relay team to victory in a qualifying heat in the time of 43.71.

However, as UCLA’s women were performing capably, Texas, which was expected to challenge the Bruins, practically forfeited its chances for the championship.

Carlette Guidry, who was expected to qualify easily in the long jump, didn’t make it. Neither did the Texas 400-meter relay team that was disqualified for passing out of the zone. To make matters worse for the Longhorns, Angie Bradburn, the NCAA indoor high jump champion, didn’t qualify for the final.

Track Notes

USC’s Lesley Noll, the Pacific 10 champion who figured to contend for the women’s 800-meter title, failed to qualify. She lost contact with the other runners in a fast heat, trailed the field for most of the race and finished fourth in 2:06.02. “I just had a bad day,” Noll said. “I never had a sense of control in the race.” . . . It was also a frustrating day for Noll’s teammate, Yvette Bates, who had three foul jumps in the long jump and didn’t qualify for the finals. . . . UCLA’s Janeene Vickers fared better in the women’s 400-meter hurdles. She qualified for the final by finishing second in her heat in the time of 57.15 . . . USC’s George Porter, one of only three Trojans representing the men, was third in Kevin Young’s fast heat and qualified for the final. He had a time of 50.65. USC’s Ibrahim Okash also advanced to the 800 final, even though he finished fourth in his heat. However, his time of 1:47.10 was faster than the winner of the two other heats . . . Trials were canceled in the men’s discus, triple jump, 5,000 and 1,600-meter relay and the women’s 3,000, shotput, 1,500 and 5,000.