Bad Start, Good Finish for USC

As omens go, it did not appear to be a good one.

But when Dawid Jaworski of USC tweaked his already tender right ankle on his second attempt in the men’s high jump competition at the NCAA track and field championships at Cal State Sacramento on Saturday, it did not signal the start of a frustrating meet for the Trojan men’s team.

Rather, it was the calm before a career-best storm that saw USC win three individual titles over the next 3 1/2 hours.

Jaworski, a senior from Poland, started the Trojan title wave by winning the high jump with a school-record clearance of 7 feet 5 3/4 inches.

Ryan Wilson, a senior from Westerville (Ohio) High, followed that with a victory in the 110-meter high hurdles in a career-best 13.35 seconds.

Then came a 1-3 finish by Julien Kapek and Allen Simms in the triple jump.

Kapek, a senior from France, bounded a career-best 56-2.

Simms, a sophomore transfer from George Mason, leaped 55-5 1/2.

Led by those three victories, USC totaled 41 1/2 points to place third in the team standings, its best finish since placing third in 1997.

Arkansas totaled 59 points to win its ninth title in 12 years and 10th overall. Southeastern Conference rival Auburn was second with 50 points.

“All of us get blessed when we get a group of guys that have a passion for what they do and they’re competitive,” USC Coach Ron Allice said. “And the qualities of the guys that came through tonight are really special.”

Jaworski, who had a best of 7-4 1/2 before the meet, found himself in an immediate hole in the high jump when it took him two attempts to clear 7-0 1/4 and three to clear 7-3 1/4. But he briefly took the lead when he cleared 7-4 1/2 on his second attempt and regained it for good when he cleared 7-5 3/4 on his second try.

Senior Shaun Kologinczak of Nebraska cleared the same height but finished second because it took him three attempts.

“I feel terrible pain so I switched my approach,” Jaworski said when asked about aggravating his injured ankle. “I run a little bit wider so I didn’t feel the pain.”

Lena Nilsson of UCLA and Juliana Tudja of USC turned in the top performances by Southland athletes in the women’s meet with second-place finishes in the 1,500 and hammer throw.

Nilsson, a junior from Sweden, ran 4:09.86.

Tudja, a senior from Hungary, upped her Pacific 10 Conference record in the hammer to 218-9.

Nilsson fell short in her bid to win her second consecutive 1,500 title when sophomore Tiffany McWilliams of Mississippi State surged past her entering the home straightaway, on her way to a meet-record time of 4:06.75.

Louisiana State won the women’s team title with 64 points, followed by Texas with 50 and defending champion South Carolina with 47. UCLA placed eighth with 28 points after finishing second in four of the five previous years.

It was LSU’s 13th title in the 22-year history of the women’s meet.