Pacific 10 Track and Field Championships : Injuries Slow UCLA, So Oregon Favored

Bob Larsen, coach of the UCLA’s men’s track team, wishes he could say with some certainty that his Bruins will win their third consecutive Pacific 10 title this weekend. He’d like to, but he can’t.

It will be a pared-down Bruin team competing today and Sunday at Stanford Stadium. UCLA’s once-strong sprint corps has dwindled with injuries to Mike Marsh and Steve Lewis, who have hamstring injuries. Both sprinters were injured at a meet in Florida April 8 and both have been used sparingly since, last competing April 29.

Also suffering hamstring injuries are hurdler Derek Knight and pole vaulter Chris O’Connor. Each is expected to compete, as well as his injury will allow. Knight’s injury, especially, is a blow. Larsen said he had expected at least a second-place finish in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles--good for 16 points--from Knight. Now, Knight figures, two Oregon athletes will move up two places and cause a point swing of as many as 20 points.

Originally, Larsen had figured to beat Oregon by 20 points. Oregon now is seen as the meet favorite.

“We’ve gone from being the strongest team we’ve ever had to--I don’t know what,” Larsen said. “We’ve never gone to the Pac-10s in this kind of shape.”

He said that with an eye to the future, specifically, the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. championship meet at the end of the month. Larsen hopes that by sparing his injured athletes in this meet, they will be ready to score some points when it really counts.

“We would love to win the Pac-10, or even make it close,” he said. “We hope to be at least close enough to challenge Oregon. But we have to be realistic--the NCAAs is the greater goal.”

One bright area for the Bruins has been the weight events, where injuries have been at a minimum and performance levels have been high.

Pete Thompson and Brian Blutreich, who placed second and third respectively in the discus in the NCAA meet last season, will compete in that event here. Dave Wilson, showing durability as well as versatility, will compete in the shot, discus and hammer. Eric Bergreen is a national qualifier in the shot, as is John Knight in the hammer. Knight has been troubled with a back injury but will throw.

The Bruin women, strong as ever, seem to be poised to pull off their third straight Pac-10 title. This year, however, the Bruin women will have to do it without the talents of Gail Devers, who has graduated.

Picking up the slack will be Kris Larson and Traci Millett in the discus, shotput and javelin.