UCLA Wins Race for Jorgensen

Kira Jorgensen made it official Wednesday--she has decided to take UCLA’s scholarship offer and run.

The Rancho Buena Vista High senior had narrowed her choices to UCLA and Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo and over the weekend put together a list of pros and cons before finally settling on UCLA.

“The team, coach (Bob Messina), social life and academics . . . more things just matched up with UCLA than with Cal Poly,” Jorgensen said.

Jorgensen has been turning heads with record-breaking races in cross-country and track since her freshman year. Her biggest victory came in December of 1987 when, as a junior, she won the Kinney National Cross-Country championship.

Jorgensen has two state track titles in the 1,600 meters, the second last year in 4:49.54. She is also the section record holder in the 3,200 (10:24.23).

All that not withstanding, Jorgensen has had some problems recently. In the 1988 Kinney nationals, she managed only 21st place. And her times during the current track season have been under her norm.

“Hopefully (the decision) will help my performances a lot,” she said. “I haven’t felt that my running has been hurt by (the decision process). But my coach (Ed Mattheus) thinks after today that this huge burden is going to be lifted off my shoulders. Hopefully we’ll see this weekend.”

On Friday and Saturday, Jorgensen will run in the Mt. SAC Invitational in Walnut.

“It’ll be nice going into a race and not being expected to win,” Jorgensen said. “Just like it was when I was as a (high school) freshman.”

In UCLA, Jorgensen has chosen a cross-country team that last fall placed second to perennial champ Oregon in the Pac 10, third in the District 8 meet behind Oregon and Cal and 13th in the NCAA finals. The team’s best NCAA finish under Messina came in 1985, when it placed sixth.

The UCLA women’s track team finished second in the NCAAs last year.

Jorgensen said a big factor in opting for UCLA was its diversity in its space science program. Jorgensen, who said she has always wanted to be an astronaut, will major in earth space science.

UCLA also announced the signings of five other area girls: La Jolla’s Nicole Anderson (basketball); Monte Vista’s Kristen Walls (diving); Bonita Vista’s Elizabeth Bowman (golf) and Cammie Foley (tennis) and Grossmont’s Kristy Howard (softball).