UC Irvine’s Green Puts Error Behind Her
IRVINE — The mood swing was dramatic for UC Irvine’s Skye Green, from great disappointment to bliss.
Green, whose gaffe in the 100-meter hurdles cost her dearly, had just held on to win the 400 hurdles Saturday in the Big West Conference track and field championships here. It was nearly too much to handle.
“Emotionally drained, that’s how I feel,” said Green, working up small smile.
Green’s victory in the 400 hurdles helped the Irvine women’s team finish fourth. Utah State won the meet for the fifth consecutive year with 139.33 points. Idaho won the men’s competition with 193 points.
The 400 became more a quest than a race for Green, after she earlier lost a lead in 100 hurdles when she hit the last hurdle. She finished third in that race.
Irvine Coach Vince O’Boyle propped the hurdle up afterward--were it had landed--to show Green just how far she had hit it. But she was not lacking for motivation.
“I had visualized winning the 100 so I would have a victory out of the way,” Green said. “When I didn’t win, it threw me off. It put a lot of pressure on me to win the 400.”
Green responded.
The race featured four runners who had times among the top 30 in the nation: Long Beach State’s Asa Karlsson (ninth), Green (13th), Utah State’s Jane Marshall (29th) and North Texas’ Charon Stewart (30th). But from the start, the race was between rivals Green and Karlsson.
Green took a comfortable lead into the final four hurdles. It was a situation not unlike the 100 hurdles, where she was in control before hitting the hurdle. Nevada’s Stephanie Robinson won that race with Karlsson finishing second.
“I started running the race instead of concentrating on the hurdles,” Green said of the 100. “I have never hit the last hurdle before.”
In the 400 she made sure, edging Karlsson by .14 seconds. Green’s time (58.03) was .03 off her school record. It was the second time in seven races Green has beaten Karlsson in the 400 this season.
“She usually runs a fast 200,” said Green, who beat Karlsson the first time on May 10 at Occidental College. “That’s what I was expecting. After the last hurdle, I saw her shadow closing.”
Green’s victory highlighted strong individual performances in the women’s competition.
Irvine’s Jo-Jo Yaba ran away from the field in winning the 5,000 (17:24.28), less than 16 hours after she had won the 10,000 Friday evening.
“Usually they run the 10,000 in the morning,” O’Boyle said. “We had a team meeting at 9 a.m. [Saturday]. That didn’t give her much time to rest.”
It didn’t show, as Yaba dominated the race.
Yaba, a fifth-year senior, was challenged the first half of the race by Fullerton’s Sarah McDougall and Alison Livermore. They faded, finishing fourth and fifth. Yaba just got stronger.
“That’s all heart and mind,” O’Boyle said.
Yaba, the conference’s cross-country championship in 1995, ran the 3,000 Saturday afternoon, giving her three distance races in less than 24 hours. She finished seventh.
“I left the 3,000 up to her,” O’Boyle said.
Said Yaba: “I had to give everything I could. I had to do it for my teammates. I love them so much and this is my last season.”
Utah State’s Ladonna Antoine, a member of the Canadian Olympic team, set a conference record in the 400 meters with a time of 51.48. It was her personal best and the second fastest in the NCAA Division I this season. Florida’s Nadia Graham ran a 51.45 in the Southeastern Conference meet last week.
It was the third consecutive year Antoine has won the 400 at this meet. Antoine also won the 200 for the second consecutive year with a meet-record time of 23.23. It was the sixth-fastest time in the NCAA this year.
Nevada’s Janel Chandler won the heptathlon with 5,304 points, a personal best. She was also the conference champion in 1995.
Chandler won the 800--the heptathlon’s final event--which had to be restarted after three runners collided on the first turn. There were no injuries.
Long Beach State’s Kirran Moss finished second in the women’s hammer for the second consecutive year. She won the event two years ago and finished second last season.
“I was a little disappointed,” said Moss, who is from Australia. “I did well, but I was hoping for more. You get into the event and the nerves start and people start playing mind games. I didn’t hold up well.”
Moss, who completed her eligibility at Long Beach, said he will transfer to Cal State Los Angeles and compete next year. Moss lost one year because she had enrolled in a school in Australia. The eligibility rules are different for CS Los Angeles, a Division II school. Moss will have one year of outdoor and two years of indoor competition left.
Injuries and mistakes hurt the Long Beach men’s team. Injuries on Friday to Joel Sakakihara (hamstring) and Ehren Thompson (Achilles’ tendon) put them out of the long jump competition.
Jermaine Strickland, one of the team’s top sprinters, pulled his hamstring in the 100 Friday. It was a costly injury, as an exchange outside the zone on the first leg of the 4 x 100 relay disqualified the 49ers Saturday.
On Friday, the 49ers’ Damon DeVault was disqualified in the discus and Detric Cofield in the long jump.
Long Beach State finished strong, placing second in the 4 x 400 relay.
Idaho dominated the sprint events, scoring 84 points. Tawanda Chiwira won the 200 and 400, although his time of 46.22 was well off his best. Chiwira had the sixth-best time in the NCAA last week in the 400 (45.23).
Idaho won the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays, setting a school and stadium record in the 4 x 400 (3:07.65).
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