COLLEGE TRACK : PACIFIC 10 CHAMPIONSHIPS : UCLA Men Counting on Balance

UCLA has dominated Pacific 10 track and field, having won four of the last six conference meets, including last year’s, and Bruin Coach Bob Larsen said his team has a good chance to win another this weekend at Berkeley.

“I think we have an excellent chance of winning,” Larsen said. “This team is similar to the ones that have been successful in the past in that they’re well-balanced.”

The two-day Pac-10 meet begins today at 11 a.m.

The Bruins, who have lost only two dual meets in the last nine years, have great depth in the shotput, discus and javelin and are strong in the sprints and hurdles. California, which defeated UCLA in a dual meet last month at Berkeley, is expected to challenge the Bruins.

UCLA sophomore John Godina has the best conference mark in the shotput, 62 feet 10 3/4 inches, and has the second-best discus mark in the conference, 198-5. Washington’s Adam Setliff has the top discus throw, 210-3.

UCLA senior Erik Smith is the top javelin thrower in the conference at 243-11, and sophomore Greg Johnson has the fourth-best mark, 230-8.

The Bruins’ Ross Flowers leads the conference in the 110-meter high hurdles with a time of 13.80 seconds, and Tony Miller, the defending Pac-10 100-meter champion, heads the sprint corps. Miller has the second-best conference marks in the 100 and 200, 10.32 and 20.76, behind USC’s Jeff Laynes.

Laynes has emerged from the shadow of graduated double Olympic gold medalist Quincy Watts and has the top conference marks in the 100, 200 and 400--10.17, 20.76 and 46.21.

Laynes and freshman hammer thrower Balazs Kiss lead the Trojan men’s team, which finished third in last year’s conference meet. Kiss, a member of the 1992 Hungarian Olympic team, is the top collegiate hammer thrower in the nation with a mark of 249-9.

UCLA’s women’s team, which has won five of the last eight conference titles, hopes to rebound from last year’s sixth-place finish. Arizona State is the women’s favorite, over UCLA and two-time defending champion Oregon.

The Bruins are led by Dawn Dumble, the defending conference champion in the shotput and discus, and Roshanda Glenn, defending champion in the triple jump.