Pacific 10 Track and Field Championship : UCLA’s Men, Women Are First and Foremost

So much for suspense.

After a day of nail-biting and chart-checking on Saturday, the UCLA men’s track and field team didn’t need calculators to figure what played out Sunday on the final day of the Pacific 10 track and field championships at Stanford.

The Bruins built a lead early and through the day continued to bury the competition while rolling to their third consecutive conference title.

UCLA compiled 153 points to beat meet favorite Oregon, which finished second with 118 points. USC was fifth with 62 points.

The Bruin women’s team had even less difficulty in winning their third consecutive Pac-10 title, earning 161 points to runner-up Oregon’s 100. USC’s women, who had only 12 points Saturday, had a strong second day and finished fourth with 57 points.

For Bob Larsen, the Bruin men’s coach, it was as satisfying for the performances as for the victory. Despite Larsen’s depressing assessment of his sprinters’ many leg injuries, UCLA came ready to compete.

There were 11 lifetime bests for the Bruins. Additionally--and this is important when Larsen is figuring the national championship meet--UCLA gained a handful of qualifying marks for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. championships, which is scheduled May 31 at Provo, Utah.

Of the expected dogfight with Oregon, Larsen said, “On our dope sheet they did a little less than we thought and we did a little more. Overall, it’s been more of a struggle this year. We’ve been tested, and that makes this more meaningful.”

Although the day--sunny and windy at Stanford Stadium--again began well for UCLA, there was none of Saturday’s dramatic point swings. Larsen did point to two key events that sealed the victory--going 1-2-3 in the discus and 1-2 in the 100 meters.

In the discus, Brian Blutreich mastered a tricky, swirling wind to win with a throw of 194 feet 9 inches. Pete Thompson was second with 192-7 and David Wilson, who Saturday won the hammer, was third at 190-4.

The sweep gave UCLA 24 points in an event the coaches had figured to gain 20. It capped a masterful effort for throwing coach Art Venegas’ troops. They contributed a two-day total of 59 points, which would have placed them sixth in the team competition.

“Definitely, the throwers’ pride is way up,” Blutreich said.

In the 100, the Bruins hoped to get points, any points. Mike Marsh, who won the event last year, was unable to run because of a hamstring injury. Marsh was limited to the 400 and a relay. In his stead were Kevin Williams, a tailback on the Bruin football team, and Chuckie Brooks, a jumper who, because of a foot injury, has spent the season as a sprinter.

Williams barreled out of the blocks and presented an impressive vision of speedy bulk as he accelerated down the track. Brooks gained on Williams in the final meters, but Williams held on to win in 10.65 to Brooks’ 10.67.

Williams knew that he might be overlooked in the event and said he surprised himself.

“I thought I might be third or fourth,” Williams said. “I got a good start and just wanted to hold on.”

Another Bruin sprinter, Steve Lewis, easily won the 400 in 45.87 and anchored UCLA’s winning 400-meter relay. Lewis, who is nursing an injured hamstring, was held out of the shorter sprints. If this is injured, what can healthy be like?

Lewis, who was the 1988 Olympic silver medalist at 400 meters, combines strength and grace in a manner that is appealing to watch. At the end of the race, one of the sport’s most taxing, many runners will sway and bob their heads. Lewis has an elegant finish in which he seems to glide in.

Robert Reading of USC had a similar bearing in winning the 110 hurdles in 13.65. Running into a stiff head wind, Reading said he was only thinking of technique, not racing. The Trojans also won the 400 hurdles. George Porter beat the rest of the field by five meters in winning in 49.55.

UCLA’s women exhibited both breadth and depth. The Bruins came into the day trailing Arizona by nine points. After 11 events UCLA was leading Oregon, 85-60, and Arizona was third with 56 points. After 14 events, those numbers increased to 117-76-60, in the same order.

Janeene Vickers of UCLA won both the 100- and 440-meter hurdles. In the latter event she beat rival Leslie Maxie of USC for the first time. Maxie, who still owns the world junior record in the event, simply faded on the straight. For Vickers, the victory was the by-product of a lesson Maxie had taught her at the USC-UCLA dual meet.

“I went out way too fast in that race,” Vickers said. “I decided from that day on I would run a more controlled race.”

Vickers’ winning time, 55.89, is a Pac-10 meet record. USC went 2-3-4 in the event, with Maxie, Karen Koellner and Michelle DeCoux following Vickers.

UCLA’s first-through-fourth sweep in the 100 hurdles made the difference, Kersee said.

“That did it for us,” Kersee said.

After the meet, Kersee, was doused with a cup of water by Tonya Sedwick, much to the delight of the UCLA team. For Sedwick, it might have been as much revenge as celebration. Sedwick bore the brunt of Kersee’s assignments, competing in seven events in this meet.

At the beginning of the meet last week she won the seven-event heptathlon. Saturday, besides running qualifying rounds in both the 200 and 400 and on two relays, Sedwick also won the long jump and qualified for the NCAA championships in that event.

Still, Sedwick has a way to go to match the indefatigable Gail Devers, whose multi-event mantle has been passed along. Devers now helps coach the Bruin hurdlers. In this meet last year Devers won the long jump, the 100 and the 100 hurdles. The year before she won four events and ran on two first-place relays.

Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, UCLA’s women throwers also had a fine day. Kris Larson and Tracie Millet each improved on their last throw to place second and third, respectively, in the discus. Larson threw 180-6 and Millet 176-3 on a day when Carla Garrett of Arizona had a big throw to win the event. Garrett, who also won the shot put, threw 198-5, a conference record, and a mark that is the ninth-best all time by an American.

Jennifer Robertson of Washington State completed an impressive double, winning the 5,000 in 16:36.14 and the 3,000 in 9:26.79.

Lesley Noll of USC attempted a double of her own, in the 1,500 and the 800. She won the first part, the 1,500, in 4:26.66. However, the labor took its toll in the 800. She was sixth.

Sedwick and Lewis were named athletes of the meet.