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UCLA Runner’s Spirit Helps Keep Bruin Unbeaten Streak Alive

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Times Staff Writer

The best way to sum up Mike Marsh’s senior year at UCLA was the series of events that took place April 15 at Drake Stadium during the meet against Houston and Louisiana State.

All season, Marsh has had to balance his commitments to the Bruin team with his career as a world-class sprinter who competed in the Seoul Olympics.

Marsh, a graduate of Hawthorne High, and teammate Steve Lewis, the Olympic gold medal winner in the 400 meters, had entered the Drake Stadium meet nursing sore hamstrings and were not expected to run.

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In past years, the Bruins would still have been in good shape, but their sprinting corps has been depleted this year with the loss of Danny Everett, the Olympic bronze medal winner in the 400 meters who turned professional, and Henry Thomas, another Hawthorne graduate who decided to redshirt this season.

So with Marsh and Lewis watching from the sidelines, the early lead that UCLA built against LSU in the field events gradually dwindled, leaving the Bruins’ four-year dual meet winning streak in jeopardy.

“Steve and I talked about it and we decided that if it came down to the mile relay, we’d run,” Marsh said.

Going into the last event, the mile relay, UCLA trailed LSU, 77-72, and Marsh and Lewis decided to give it that old college try and run.

First, however, they had to convince their sprint coach, John Smith.

“John said no at first,” Marsh said. “Steve did all the talking. We sat him down and told him we wanted to do this. This is our track team, our home and we wanted to keep the streak alive. This was a decision that we made. He said OK.”

So Marsh ran a 45.6 second leg and Lewis a 46.4 anchor leg as the Bruins won the event and tied the meet at 77-77 to extend the unbeaten streak to 42 (it has since been extended to 43).

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“I’d gone into the meet thinking I’m not going to run,” Marsh said. “And I sat around for a while. But them emotions get to flying and all of the sudden it’s like, ‘Well, (the hamstring is) not that bad.’ ”

Since then, Marsh’s hamstring problems have continued to plague him and he has been used sparingly, with his last race on April 28 against USC. Marsh and Smith said that by running to keep the streak alive, Marsh might have reaggravated the injury, putting his other goals--such as running on the professional circuit in Europe this summer--in jeopardy.

“We saved the unbeaten streak, but I did irritate my hamstring a little bit. That might have something to do with the problems I’m having now,” Marsh said. “But I make no excuses. That’s the decision I made. I’m not bitter about it.”

Said Smith: “If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t let them run. But I have a lot of respect for what they did. That’s why they’re here. . . . It was something they felt they needed to do.”

Besides the LSU dramatics, Marsh’s only other notable success during this injury-plagued year has been a school-record 10.07 in the 100 meters in the Gainesville relays when he took second to Olympic teammate Dennis Mitchell of Florida.

Last weekend at the Pacific 10 Conference finals, Marsh decided against running in the 100 or 200 meters, but took second behind Lewis in the 400 meters. In qualifying for the 400, Marsh had a lifetime best of 46.21. Marsh also ran the second leg of the winning 1,600-meter relay.

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“We didn’t want Mike to come blasting out of the starts in the 100 or 200 where he could reinjure himself,” said UCLA Coach Bob Larsen, who guided the Bruin men to their third consecutive conference title.

Marsh placed sixth in the 100 meters at the U.S. national trials in Indianapolis, earning a spot on the 400-meter relay team. The U.S. team, however, was disqualified for an illegal baton exchange in the first qualifying round, leaving Marsh a spectator for the remainder of the Games.

“I was disappointed that the team got disqualified, but things like that happen,” Marsh said. “The thing with Seoul was the whole international scene. You saw a spirit of competition that was tremendous. Everybody came out on top. You’re already a success being there.”

Marsh is setting his sights on the national championships beginning Wednesday in Provo, Utah. Last year Marsh finished fourth in the 100 meters and ran on the 400-meter relay team that took second. As a sophomore, he finished third in the 100 meters and fourth in the 200 meters. He still hopes to race in Europe this summer, then plans to return to UCLA to get his degree in history with a business emphasis and possibly attend graduate school. He also has his eye on the 1992 Olympics, which will be held in Barcelona, Spain.

“Seoul’s given me a bigger perspective on the things I want to do in track and field,” he said. “I want to go into Barcelona and be one of the best. That’s what I’m setting up to train for.”

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