In a disastrous day for our Bruins, both Men's and Women's Track teams were upset by the Trojans. Had we won both (which, on paper, we really should have), we would have won the Gauntlet.
Woulda, shoulda, coulda, I know, but this hurts a lot, and just should never happen (read Dohn's trojie counterpart for the reasons why).

The silver lining is that the men's track team should be a lot, lot better next year with the footballers like Carroll, Thigpen, Savage (redshirting track this season) and a couple others. We've also got the nation's #1 recruit (national record in the Discus) coming in and Moopark sprinter Max Dyce (yesterday ran 10.37w). We'll also have our star hurdler, Craddock, back for his senior season (redshirting this year due to nagging injury or something and prep for US nationals). 

 

Below are the results of today's Mt. SAC relays 100-meter dash. Sheldon Price, another incoming Bruin (who'll play CB on the football team), also ran. Randall Carroll was at the meet, but I think only ran on Cathedral's relays. Anyway, Dyce's time (with 0 wind) is very, very good. Better than any Bruin trackster now or in the past several years.

It's also his fastest run ever (which means he continues to improve and get faster), and it ranks him currently #1 in the state and #8 in the nation. I think Price will do track and play FB, along with Carroll, Thigpen, Savage and Rosario. Great to see some speed coming to UCLA.



2009 51st Annual Mt. SAC Relays - 4/16/2009 to 4/18/2009
"Where the World's Best Athletes Compete"
Hilmer Lodger Stadium-Walnut, CA

Event 738 Boys 100 Meter Dash Invite
============================================================================
Name Year Team Finals Wind Points
============================================================================
Finals
1 Dyce, Maxwell Moorpark 10.51 +0.0 10
2 Middlebrooks, Kyle Fountain Valley 10.62 +0.0 8
3 Dunlap, Chris John Muir 10.87 +0.0 6
4 El-Sabawi, Bassim Torrey Pines 10.88 +0.0 4
5 Harris, Justin Upland 10.93 +0.0 3
6 Herrera, Taylor Damien 10.98 +0.0 2
7 Price, Sheldon Bishop Amat 11.01 +0.0 1
8 Morgan, D. J. William Howard Taft 11.06 +0.0
9 Saseun, Charles Rancho Cucamonga 11.40 +0.0

I mentioned this in one of Nestor's post-game threads, but I wanted to put it here also so anyone who wants can check the archives in a couple of months, will be able to do so.
UCLA will beat usc this season..

As ugly as that BYU game was 18 hours ago and as bad as we all feel, I have a very strong gut feeling that RN and co. are going to do something very special. We may have a very mediocre season overall, but I’m convinced, after some of the post-game comments and perspective, that this team is going to beat the usc thugs this season. Place your bets with co-workers/neighbors now, and buy me beer with your winnings if we ever meet up.

 

 

I hate to be a wet blanket, but give credit where credit is due to all hard-working Bruin athletes. Nestor, you do an extraordinarily fabulous job with everything here and I have the utmost respect for your loyalties! But I just wanted to point out that both the hard-working Bruin men and women tracksters are still gearing up for the NCAA championships with high hopes.

I realize that track fanatics are a special breed (I count myself among them) and it’s certainly not for everyone, but they do work as hard as any Bruin athlete and have contributed to over a dozen of our 103 NCAA titles. So when you say this about our baseballers, who I'm pulling for big time --  On to Bru-104. And we have one more shot left for the 2007-08 season  -- It makes me a bit disappointed, because they are not the only "shot" left for us.

The Bruin Nation, the Bruin Family and Bruinsnation.com also should be aware of and acknowledge our Bruin Tracksters, who put up some valiant efforts this past weekend at the West Regionals to qualify a couple dozen athletes for the NCAA championship meet in 10 days.

The Bruin men are ranked #3 in the nation and the women are #7. Both are darkhorses for the title, but then again so was our men’s Golf team....

Lots of Bruins (and future Bruins) in action on Friday evening.

FB recruits Rahim Moore of Dorsey, Aaron Hester of Dominguez and Anthony Dye Santiago-Corona are in action in this video (link below) of the 4x100 relay prelims at the CA state track meet.

http://www.dyestat.com/?pg=videos&vid=79807ABD2D63D5CA

In the video...

--Hester is the #2 runner for Dominguez (red uni) in Heat #2

--Dye is the lead-off runner for Santiago (lane 5) heat #3

--Moore is the anchor runner for Dorsey (green) in Heat #4

Moore holds onto second and qualifies for the finals, but didn't look to have great speed.

Moore and Hester's teams will go head-to-head in the 4x100 finals on Saturday afternoon.

Also,

--Drew Gordon (hoops recruit) easily qualified for the finals in the discus throw.

--Nelson Rosario (FB recruit) dominated the Long Jump prelims (over 24', which is farther than any current Bruin jumped this season) and qualified for the Triple Jump.

There are probably a few more guys here and there...

*Team Score MEN: UCLA 89, USC 74*

*Highlights from both sides:
*UCLA's Kevin Craddock 110hurdles - 13.46 (+1.3) (#2 ncaa) - blows away top 10 guys Kelley and Taylor
*USC's Lionel Larry 45.04 (#2 ncaa) and 20.65 (#7 ncaa) and anchored both winning relays
*USC'sAhmad Rashad -- comes off injury for season debut of 10.26 (+0.3) and 20.97
*USC's Kai Kelley 400H 50.19 (#7 ncaa)
*UCLA soph Stan Griffin gets big PB 21.15 in the 200m
*UCLA Frosh Spencer Knight with big PB in the steeplechase.
*Football Players Terrence Austin (high jump) and Darius Savage (discus and shot) both score crucial points for the Bruins.

**Team score Women: USC 86, UCLA 77

*UCLA's Nicole Leach -- season debut in 400H -- 55.37(#2 ncaa), 400- 51.69 (#2 in NCAA)+ two relays
*USC's Carol Rodriguez -- 400 -- 51.39 (#1 NCAA)
*USC 4x1 -- 44.07 (#4 team in ncaa)
*USC 4x4 -- 3:31.85 (#3 team in ncaa)
*UCLA's Yolanda Diego of UCLA beating Rodriguez in the 200 with huge PB 23.14 (#10 in ncaa)
*UCLA Frosh PVer, Tori Anthony, easily winning in 13-7.25 (4.15m)

http://uclabruins.cstv.com/sports/m-track/recaps/050308aab.html

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This is a big week for UCLA track. Both the men's and women's team will be at Drake Stadium hosting the trojies in a head-to-head dual meet on SATURDAY at 11am.

The Bruin men and women are both slight favorites, but in that emotionally charged atmosphere, anything can happen. So... we need to make the most of the home-field advantage. Last year at USC, their home crowd was quite large and vocal, and that, I believe, was the difference, as the trojie men upset the Bruins in a tight battle. It was the first time the Trojans had beaten us in a dual meet for many, many years.

Now, we need to start the win streak anew, and we really need all of you BNers to get out to DRAKE on Saturday at 11am and start making some noise! AND IT'S FREE admission for ALL STUDENTS! It's also a great day out with extremely loyal, fellow Bruins.

We have not lost at home since 1977, don't let the trojies break that streak. It's incumbent upon every man, woman and child in the Bruin Nation to get out there and cheer our studs on to victory.

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UCLA and Oregon are renewing their intense Track&Field rivalry this Saturday with an "old-school" style DUAL MEET. It will be up at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene and feature some of the NCAA's top talent, especially UCLA's throwers and Oregon's distance guys.

This year it will only be the men competing. Oregon fans are rabid and loyal supporters of the track team.

Our beloved Bruins have much less support these days from the student body and recent alums, so I encourage you BNers to show our boys -- who are currently ranked #3 in the nation -- some love.

Meet will be webcast (see link) and starts just after noon on Saturday April 19.
Check these websites for more info and background

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THIS WAS DECEMBER OF THE '68-'69 SEASON [editor's note, by rich87]

THIS WAS MARCH OF THAT SAME SEASON...

GOT NET?????

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As many commentators point out, tournament experience is often a very big factor.

This current UCLA team has a heck of a lot of Big Dance experience under their collective belt, and although I haven't run the numbers, I'd be willing to assert that this team has more experience than all the other teams in the tourney this year.

Check these numbers
++Luc Richard M.A.M.:--- 11 games (9-2 record), 311 minutes played
++Darren Collison:------ 11 games (9-2), 292 minutes
++Lorenzo Mata-R.:------ 12 games (9-3), 200 minutes
++Josh Shipp:------------ 6 games (4-2), 196 minutes
++Alfred Aboya:--------- 11 games (9-2), 166 minutes
++Mike Roll***:--------- 11 games (9-2), 119 minutes
++James Keefe:----------- 5 games (4-1), 38 minutes
++Russell Westbrook:------5 games (4-1), 30 minutes
++Nic Dragovic:-----------1 game (1-0), 4 minutesUpdate [2008-3-20 9:34:33 by rich87]:

Totals:
-73 NCAA tourney games played
-1,356 tourney minutes played
-58 wins that this group of guys has experienced  

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The UCLA basketball team started 7-0 before a loss to Texas. Then we won 9 in a row before stumbling to USC. We then reeled off just 5 wins before the loss at UW. Thus, we are averaging 7-game win streaks between losses.

Currently, we are on a 6-game win streak. So if form holds (and of course such past trends, like a stock or a mutual fund, does not guarantee future similar success) it looks like we will win against Cal, extending the current streak to 7.

This could mean, we drop our first-round Pac-10 tourney game, BUT then go on to win 6 in a row thereafter. That would only mean one thing -- THE 12th BANNER!

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I have become nauseous reading about the Oregon fan behavior during Thursday's game, but was even more disgusted when I read this mealy mouthed excuse in the LATimes:

*{Greg Walker, a spokesman for the Oregon athletic department, acknowledged that some of the chants and signs were in poor taste. "But the other side of this is a free speech issue," Walker said. "We don't have the authority to take away signs. We don't agree with all the things that were said or that they were in the best of taste. We're aware of everything that was said and we're not always proud. But there is a right to free speech."...}*

Contrary to what the UO is saying, there are things that can be done. For instance, several times in Europe (and likely other places) professional soccer teams have been slapped with a 'fan ban' due to similarly vile fan behavior - often involving racist chants toward African players. Each of those teams' subsequent home games were held in completely empty, eerie stadiums with just the players, coaches, refs and other functionaries.

The governing body of soccer in Europe was disgusted and embarrassed, and decided to lay down the law in a draconian fashion. By taking away gate receipts and denying fans an opportunity to see the game live they have created an appropriate deterrent to such sickening behavior by fans.

I believe the Pac-10 and/or NCAA should penalize Oregon in a similar manner, if not their next home game, then for sure the next time Kevin Love goes up to that pit.