NCAA Track and Field Meet : UCLA’s Vickers Is Hurdles Winner

PROVO, Utah —  UCLA’s Janeene Vickers is aware by experience that the 400-meter hurdles race is won, or lost at the 10th and last hurdle.

As a freshman in last year’s National Collegiate Athletic Assn. track and field meet, she surprised herself while leading before the 10th hurdle.

“I just wanted to have a good performance. I wasn’t prepared to win,” Vickers said. “So I hit the last hurdle and went from first to fourth.”

Vickers was more prepared Friday night in the NCAA meet at Brigham Young, and when Nebraska’s Linetta Wilson stumbled coming off the last hurdle, Vickers went on to win in a personal best time of 55.27 seconds.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee is the only Bruin ever to run faster, 55.05.

It was a gratifying evening for Vickers but a disappointing one for the UCLA men’s team, sprinter Mike Marsh and USC intermediate hurdler George Porter.

The Bruins have only 13 points after the first day of full finals competition, and Coach Bob Larsen said, “We’re pretty much out of it.”

Marsh, who hasn’t been competitive in the 100 or 200 since April 8 because of a hamstring injury, finished seventh in the 200 while running from Lane 1.

Dave Wilson, who was expected to get some points in the discus, didn’t even qualify for the final. UCLA’s Peter Thompson and Brian Blutreich, who injured his knee while warming up, tried to take up the slack by finishing third and fourth.

Porter said he was surprised when Texas’ Winthrop Graham went out fast in the 400-meter hurdles race. Porter couldn’t cut into Graham’s advantage and had to settle for third. However, he had a personal best time of 49.19 seconds.

“I just couldn’t catch up,” Porter said, “but I’m happy with my 49.19.”

The Trojans were hoping to win both hurdles races as Robert Reading is a slight favorite to win the 110-meter event tonight.

USC’s Michelle Taylor came close in the women’s 800, only to be caught and passed in the final 50 meters by Harvard’s Meredith Rainey.

Conditions were near perfect on a balmy night at the 4,500-foot site below the Wasatch Mountains. Some highlights:

--Paul Ereng, the Olympic gold medalist who competes for Virginia, toyed with the field in winning the 800 in an eased-up 1:47.50. He was in last place with 300 meters left and picked off the pack one by one.

--Florida’s Dennis Mitchell, who was disqualified from a 100 heat Thursday for a false start, redeemed himself by winning the 200 in 20.09.

--Villanova’s Vicki Huber, a 1988 Olympian, won her third NCAA title in the women’s 3,000 meters in 9:06.96.

--Texas Christian established a collegiate record in winning the 400-meter relay in 38.23. So did Louisiana State’s women in winning the sprint relay in 42.50.

UCLA is the two-time defending men’s champion, but things began to fall apart for the Bruins when it was learned early this week that Steve Lewis, the Olympic gold medalist in the 400, couldn’t compete because of a hamstring injury.

Without Lewis, UCLA was unable to get a qualifying time either in the 400, or 1600-meter relays in a “last chance” meet Sunday at Mt. San Antonio College.

Then, when Wilson didn’t qualify for the hammer throw final Thursday, things took another turn for a worse. He finished second in the event last year and, with a throw of 224 feet 8 inches this season, figured to place high.

However, he faltered as he has been bothered by an ear infection. Marsh’s seventh-place finish on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scoring system didn’t help, either.

UCLA got 25 points from its weight men and throwers while winning the NCAA title last year with a total of 81 points.

Florida was the favoritethis year, but LSU is in command now with 39 points to the Gators’ 28.

UCLA’s women’s team is faring better than the men. The Bruins are in in second place with 30 points. Heavily favored LSU is the leader with 44 points.

Vickers said she ran the race of her life in winning the women’s 400-meter hurdles. She said the pace was exceedingly fast at the outset and she wanted to have something in reserve.

“It doesn’t matter who is leading coming off the final curve,” she said. “The one who attacks the ninth and tenth hurdles usually wins.”

Wilson had a slight lead on Vickers approaching the 10th hurdle. But she stutter-stepped and lost her balance going over the barrier. Vickers then flashed by to win.

Taylor has a difficult double in this meet, 800 to 400. She said that to get an individual title she probably should have concentrated on one event.

As it is, she’ll be in five races when the meet concludes tonight, including the 1,600-meter relay.

As for her loss in the 800, she said: “When Rainey passed me, I just didn’t have enough time to react.”

Track Notes

Ohio State’s Joe Greene won the long jump with a leap of 27 feet 7 1/4 inches. It was wind-aided at 2.04 meters per seconds, just over the allowable 2 meters. Had it been legal he would have broken the school record of 26-8 1/4 set by the legendary Jesse Owens in 1935, which was also the world record at the time. . . . Six USC athletes, including Paul Kerry in 1965, have won individual NCAA titles in the 110-meter high hurdles, not five as reported. . . . UCLA’s Kris Larson set a women’s school record in the discus at 187-3 while finishing second. UCLA’s Tracie Millett was third at 170-6. . . . Virginia’s Paul Ereng said he trailed the field for most of the 800-meter race because he didn’t want to be tripped. . . . Said UCLA’s Mike Marsh on his seventh-place finish in the 200: “It was definitely one of my worst performances, but I haven’t had many 200 races all year.”