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Track & Field Heads to Eugene for NCAA Championships

by uclabruins.com
Jun 8, 2021
Alyssa Wilson (photo by Kirby Lee -- USA Today Images)

LOS ANGELES – UCLA Track & Field is set to wrap up its 2021 postseason at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. The four-day competition is set to kick off on Wednesday, June 9. The meet will take place at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.  
 
MEET INFORMATION – NCAA West Regional Championships

BRUINS AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS – UCLA's National Qualifiers
UCLA Track & Field qualified five individual student-athletes and a pair of relay squads to the NCAA Championships. Below is the full list of Bruins competing this week.
 
Women
4x100m Relay
4x400m Relay
Ilaria Casarotto – Javelin
Meleni Rodney – 400m
Alyssa Wilson – Discus, Hammer Throw
 
Men
Harrison Schrage – Long Jump
Ismail Turner – 400m
 
LOOKING BACK – 2019 NCAA Championships
The 2019 NCAA Championships saw the UCLA men compile 16 points for a tie for 18th place overall, while Alyssa Wilson accounted for all 10 of the Bruins' points on the women's side.
 
UCLA secured points from Dotun Ogundeji in the shot and discus competitions in the senior's final collegiate meet. Freshman Sean Lee cleared 2.21m (7-03.00) in the high jump to secure sixth place in his National Meet debut, the highest finish by a Bruin male in the event since 1984. Robert Brandt scored for the Bruin men with a seventh-place finish in the 10,000m, crossing with a time of 29:26.34. Wilson secured seventh-place finishes in the shot put (17.13m, 56-02.50) and discus (186-0) and a third-place effort in the hammer throw (228-10). Christina Chenault qualified for Nationals in the heptathlon, ultimately finishing 20th overall with 5,386 points. Elleyse Garrett finished tied for ninth in the women's pole vault competition with a clearance of 4.20m (13-09.25). Meleni Rodney made her first appearance at the National Meet in the 400m, advancing to the semifinal round and, ultimately, finishing 21st with a time of 53.83.
 
MEET RECAP – NCAA West Preliminaries (May 26-29)
The Bruins continued their 2021 postseason with a trip to College Station, Texas for the NCAA West Preliminaries, which served as the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships.
 
Ismail Turner continued his electric season in the 400m, clocking lifetime-best times in the first round and quarterfinals to punch his ticket to Eugene. Turner's time of 45.64 advanced him to the National Meet and was the fastest time by a Bruin in the event since 2004. Meleni Rodney breezed to a third-place finish in heat one of the women's competition, punching her ticket to Nationals with a time of 51.57. The Bruin women picked notched an historic performance of 3:28.70 in the 4x400m relay, the third-fastest time in UCLA history in the event. Maddy Doane had a career performance at Prelims, notching personal-best times in the 100m (11.48) and 200m (23.41) and anchoring the women's 4x100m relay squad to NCAA qualification.
 
Alyssa Wilson secured qualification in the hammer throw and discus, as she is now set to compete at Nationals in multiple events for the third time in her career. Jacob Wilson just missed a qualifying spot in the men's shot put, finishing 15th overall at 18.94m (62-01.75). Redshirt freshman Peter Herold toed the line for the Bruins in the men's 3000m steeplechase, finishing 18th overall with a time of 8:55.19. Herold finished the season No. 5 on UCLA's all-time list in the steeple, as he clocked a career-best time of 8:42.94 at the Pac-12 Championships on May 15.
 
ALL-TIME RANKS – UCLA Top-10 Performances This Season
 
Women

  • No. 1 – Ilaria Casarotto – Javelin – (53.09m, 174-2)
  • No. 3 – 4x400m Relay – M. Rodney, M. Pierre-Webster, C. Leger, S. Anderson (3:28.70)
  • No. 3 – Shae Anderson – 400m (51.16)
  • No. 4 – Kate Jendrezak – 800m (2:04.46)
  • No. 4 – Meleni Rodney – 400m (51.32)
  • No. 5 – Lauren McFall – Javelin – (48.62m, 159-6)
  • No. 7 – Shae Anderson – 200m (22.96)
  • No. 7 – Shae Anderson – 400m Hurdles (55.21)

Men

  • No. 5 – Peter Herold – 3000m Steeplechase (8:42.94)
  • No. 6 – Harrison Schrage – Long Jump (7.97m, 26-01.75)
  • No. 8 – 4x100m Relay – K. Higgins II, I. Turner, C. Moore, H. Schrage (39.29)
  • No. 10 – Ismail Turner – 400m (45.64)

NOTES ON THE BRUINS

  • Alyssa Wilson (hammer throw) and Shae Anderson (400m, 400mH) have qualified for the upcoming Olympic Trials in the aforementioned events.
  • Alyssa Wilson is set to compete in multiple events at the NCAA Championships for the third time in her career.
  • Harrison Schrage won the Pac-12 long jump title with a leap of 7.81m (25-07.50).
  • Ismail Turner ran a lifetime-best time of 45.64 in at NCAA West Prelims, tied for the No. 10 performance in the event in UCLA history and the fastest time by a Bruin in the event since 2004.
  • Ilaria Casarotto is making her first appearance at the NCAA Championships this week. She owns the UCLA school record in the javelin with a toss of 53.09m (174-2).

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