LV vies for last-second national bids

by Chrissy Zehrbach
Assistant Editor

With the goal of nationals on their minds, individuals from the University of La Verne track and field team competed in the Occidental Invitational Saturday, in a last attempt to gain national berths.

The Leopards faced tough competition from Division I schools as well as unattached participants in the non-scoring meet but fared well overall.

"We had some really good marks," said head coach Pat Widolff.

For the women's team, the 4x100-meter relay team of Dejuana Satchell, LaKia Sims, Deonne McLean and Liz Lucsko ran their race in 47.90 for a third place finish.

Lori Waters and Ellen Soakai threw the shot put 44'10.75" and 42'08",respectively. Gerlaine Kiamco tossed the hammer 146'10", and Lisa Mila achieved a distance of 115'05" in the javelin.

Lucsko reached a distance of 17'09" in the long jump competition, while Sims leaped 37'04.5" in the triple jump for a fourth place finish.

For the men's team, Brandon Tedrow tossed the discus 141'06" and the javelin 198'01". John Horton took fifth place in the triple jump with a distance of 47'02.5" and also reached 20'01" in the long jump.

On the track, Will Lawson took seventh in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.16.

Eric Thomas reached a National Collegiate Athletic Association provisional qualifying time in the 400-meter dash, completing the race in 48.38.

The men's 4x400-meter relay team of Brandon Jones, Lawson, Thomas and Blaine Bacher set a new school record with its finish of 3:14.97 - also an NCAA provisional qualifying time.

After Saturday's meet, 16 ULV athletes had achieved provisional marks and are in contention for national bids.

"Everyone has been working hard," Soakai said. "Track is an individual sport; it's about how hard you work."

Only two ULV athletes hold automatic bids to the national competition.

Tedrow has qualified in the javelin and the decathlon. Nationally, he ranks No. 7 in javelin and No. 2 in decathlon. In last year's national tournament, he took third place in the decathlon.

Waters holds the other automatic bid with her No. 6 ranking in the shot put.

In most events, the top 16 ranked athletes move on to the national meet.

After this last week of competition, athletes who are still in good standing will earn berths to the meet.

The women's 4x100-meter relay team currently ranks No. 12 in the nation, while the men's 4x400-meter relay team ranks No. 11.

Individually, Sims holds a No. 14 ranking in the triple jump. Lucsko is No. 11 in the long jump and also reached provisional marks in the triple jump.

Soakai retains a No. 13 ranking in the shotput and is No. 17 in discus, while Mila is No. 7 in the nation for javelin.

Horton maintains the No. 10 spot in the long jump and is No. 17 in the triple jump.

Lawson ranks No. 11 in the 400-meter hurdles.

"It's what I've wanted since I was a freshman," Thomas said about the opportunity to compete in nationals. "We just barely missed it the last two years, and to do it now is beautiful; it's what I've wanted."

Provisional marks were also achieved throughout the season by Adriana Ramirez in the triple jump, Kiamco in the hammer and Amy Smith in the high jump.

Satchell also achieved provisional times in the 100 and 200-meter dashes.

"We don't have a meet this week, which gives us plenty of time to work on things," Widolff said.

"I think we're ready," Thomas said. "I don't care how well we run when we get there; I just want to see us get there."

A goal for many Leopards is to earn All-American recognition.

"My competition is very harsh," Soakai said. "I have to throw real well to be All-American."

"Being All-American would be a beautiful way to end the season," Thomas said.

Tedrow, Lucsko and Waters achieved this honor for their accomplishments last season.

For the first time in ULV history, both the men's and women's teams have walked away from the season with the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Male and Female Athlete of the Year Awards.

Lucsko and Tedrow were selected by SCIAC coaches as this year's recipients, beating out strong competition from other conference teams.

"It's exciting for both of them; they're both seniors, and they've both worked really hard," Widolff said.

This season, Lucsko was SCIAC champion of the long jump and 100-meter hurdles and shared the glory of a championship 4x100-meter relay team.

She was also named SCIAC Athlete of the Week April 29. Lucsko is the third ULV female track athlete to receive this award.

Tedrow is the second ULV male track athlete to be named Athlete of the Year.

This season, he earned All-State honors in the javelin and was named Athlete of the Week March 25.

The NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships will be held May 22-24 at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.

"This is the most important meet of the year," Widolff said. "A lot of our athletes have worked hard for nine months for this meet."

Finalists should be declared by the end of the weekend, and athletes will be notified in the upcoming week if they will be participating.