TRACK AND FIELD / PACIFIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIPS : Millett Shotputs UCLA Women Near Title

Tracie Millett, the UCLA school record-holder in the women’s shotput, used to take a lot of kidding from her teammates because she was a 162-pound weakling.

“My nickname was Bambi because I had a strong upper body, but my legs were weak,” Millett said.

After she spent the off-season squatting under weights, Millett’s teammates have dropped the nickname.

Millett squats 300 pounds, an increase of 40 pounds, and she has increased her body weight by 23 pounds, bulking up to 185, most of which is muscle.

“My coach told me I had to gain 20 pounds,” Millett said. “Telling a woman to gain 20 pounds is like telling her to jump off a cliff.”

But the gains she has made in the weight room have enabled her to become one of the nation’s top collegiate women’s shotputters.

Millett won the NCAA indoor title last winter and gained the Pacific 10 title Saturday, throwing a personal best of 53 feet 9 3/4 inches at Husky Stadium at the University of Washington.

Millett bristles at comparisons with muscular types who compete in the women’s shotput for Eastern Bloc countries.

“A lot of people expect you to be a little less feminine when you’re a women’s shotputter,” Millett said. “One of my goals is to show people that you can be feminine. A lot of people come up to me and tell me I look like a volleyball player.”

Millett, who is also favored in the discus competition today, helped put the Bruins on track for their fourth consecutive women’s Pac-10 title. Although Oregon had an 61-34 lead over UCLA after seven events, the Bruins are expected to score well in the today when their sprinters--such as Angela Burnham, who won her heats in the 100 and 200--compete. Oregon isn’t expected to score well today.

“We’re on our way,” UCLA Coach Bob Kersee said. “I know we have a good shot at the national championship, but I don’t want to look past the Pac-10 meet.”

UCLA’s injury-plagued men’s team, bidding for its fourth consecutive Pac-10 title, probably won’t be able to catch Oregon.

The Ducks, who upset UCLA to win the 1986 Pac-10 championship, may have wrapped up this year’s meet by winning the decathlon, hammer throw, steeplechase, long jump, pole vault and 10,000-meter run to build a 48-point lead over third-place UCLA. After seven events, Oregon leads with 89 points, followed by Washington State (44) and UCLA (41).

UCLA Coach Bob Larsen all but conceded the title to the Ducks after Oregon was first and second in the pole vault.

“I think Oregon is darn close to winning the meet,” Larsen said. “They had a superb day. I thought the pole vault was a big event for them because it came down to two Oregon vaulters and three UCLA vaulters, and they went one-two and we finished third, fourth and fifth.”

Oregon Coach Bill Dellinger was cautious.

“I felt if we scored 75 points today we had a chance to win the meet,” Dellinger said. “With 89 we have a better chance, but we haven’t won it yet.”

Oregon, which had not had a vaulter who managed to clear a height in the last two Pac-10 meets, reversed the trend this year as Brian Cullen cleared 17 feet 1/4 inch to win and teammate Mark Vanderville cleared the same height for second. Cullen won because he had fewer misses. UCLA’s Rob Rynearson, Steve Slocum and Jay Borick were third, fourth and fifth. Each cleared 16-8 3/4.

Danny Lopez, the nation’s fastest collegiate steeplechaser, held off Marty Stroschein of Washington State, the two-time defending Pac-10 champion, to win. Lopez was timed in 8:38.1, and Stroschein clocked 8:39.2.

Coming around the final turn Stroschein seemed ready to make a move at Lopez, who led from the start, but Stroschein stumbled before he went over the final hurdle and Lopez pulled away.

Oregon’s Latin Berry, the Rams’ third-round pick in last month’s NFL draft, won the long jump for the third consecutive year with a leap of 26-2 3/4. USC’s Dietmar Haaf, who had the top qualifying mark (26-11 3/4) going into the meet, failed to make a legal jump, fouling on all of his preliminary jumps.

Oregon’s Peter Fonseca, the third-place finisher in the 1990 Los Angeles marathon, won the 10,000 and teammate Brad Hudson was fourth.

Oregon’s other winner was Scott McGee, who won the hammer throw with a personal-best toss of 225-4, beating UCLA’s John Knight (215-4). Earlier this week, Pedro daSilva won the decathlon.

Steve Lewis, the 1988 Olympic gold medalist in the quarter-mile, was UCLA’s lone bright spot. Lewis, who had been sidelined for two months with a hamstring injury, had the best qualifying time (45.98 seconds) in the men’s 400. Although Lewis ran relaxed, he still managed to win his heat, edging USC’s Travis Hannah (46.35), who had the second-fastest qualifying time. UCLA’s Mike Stevenson, who won the other heat, had the third-fastest qualifying time (46.62).

“This was my first race in two months and I felt strong today,” Lewis said. “ I didn’t take it out fast because I want to take things gradually.”

Track Notes

Although USC, which is in last place with one point, isn’t a factor in the team race, the Trojans still have some top individual performers.

Sprinter Quincy Watts won his heat of the men’s 200 meters with a wind-aided time of 21.26, and hurdler George Porter, the defending Pac-10 champion in the 400 intermediate hurdles, won his heat in a time of 50.79. USC’s only other qualifier was hurdler Martin Cannady, who ran 46.85 to make the 400 meter intermediate hurdle finals.

UCLA’s Caryl Smith, defending champion in the women’s 100, fell midway through her heat after straining her right hamstring.