Bruins’ Streak Hits 22

All the signs seemed to point to USC ending its 21-year, dual-meet losing streak to UCLA in men’s track and field.

The Trojans had the sprinters. They were adequately represented in the field events and thought they could steal some points in the distance events.

UCLA wasn’t very good at reading the signs. The Bruins extended their streak with enough clutch performances Saturday that led to an 88-75 victory before 5,463 at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.

It was a gratifying victory for first-year Coach Art Venegas, who took over for the retiring Bob Larsen.

In the days before the meet, Venegas thought the Bruins had a slim chance of winning.

“Talent is talent and USC had a lot of it. So did we,” Venegas said. “I thought we were about a 50-point underdog, and I thought we needed a lot of breaks today. We got them all.”

The biggest may have come in the 200 meters. USC led, 71-60, after sweeping the triple jump and getting a win from Felix Sanchez in the 400-meter hurdles.

Defending Pacific-10 Conference 100-meter champion Sultan McCullough, who won that event earlier in the day, pulled up as he turned the corner. Damian Allen and Bryan Harrison took advantage.

Allen won with a time of 20.97. Harrison was right behind at 20.98, giving the Bruins eight crucial points.

“I think it did turn the meet,” said Allen, a former UCLA cornerback. “But I thought the 400 also turned it for us. When Malachi Davis was scratched, it could have been easy to just give up. SC thought they could sweep, but Terrance Williams came up big [for second place].”

UCLA’s 5,000-meter runners took it from there. Paul Muite, Dan Brecht and Bryan Green all crossed the finish line ahead of USC to clinch the win.

“I’m so happy to win this meet,” said Muite, who clocked 14:55.85. “It’s a relief to get it done before the relays. I told the guys that it was our turn to win it for us.”

It disappointed USC Coach Ron Allice that his top pole vaulter failed to clear a height, and he was discouraged when McCullough pulled up in the 200. But it disturbed him immensely when his 4x400 relay team was disqualified after winning.

“The end was ugly,” Allice said after his relay team was disqualified for showboating during the race. “They were hung up in a moment where they were trying to get payback [for losing the meet].”

The Trojans got a big performance from Djeke Mambo. The junior won the long jump and triple jump and finished second to Ryan Wilson in a USC sweep of the 110 high hurdles.

But that wasn’t enough to overcome a startling no-height by vaulter Dennis Kholev. Kholev has cleared 18 feet 3 inches this season, but UCLA’s Brian McLaughlin and Jared Drake finished first and second with marks of 17-2 3/4 and 16-8 3/4.

In the women’s meet, UCLA dominated as expected, 86-68, even though it did not send out either of its relay teams.

Senior Seilala Sua earned 15 points by winning the javelin throw, shotput and discus in her final home meet. The defending NCAA shotput and discus champion ended her day with an impressive 208-4 throw in the discus to outdistance the field by 48 feet.

“I can’t say enough about Seilala,” UCLA Coach Jeanette Bolden said. “She was upset after the hammer [she finished third]. I said something to her and she snapped back, ‘I’m fine.’ I knew she was ready.”

Bolden held out her 4x100 relay team because she wanted to protect Keyon Soley from further injuring her hamstring. But the NCAA indoor long jump champion recorded the third-best outdoor mark this season with a winning leap of 21-4.

High jumper Darnesha Griffith automatically qualified for the NCAA outdoor championships with a personal-best 6-0 3/4. The Bruins recorded 54 of their points in the field events.

Angela Williams provided some highlights for the Trojans by winning the 100 and 200. Malika Edmonson led a 1-2-3 sweep in the 400 with a time of 53.05.

Katie Nuanes led a UCLA sweep in the 1,500 as the Trojans’ Anna Lopaciuch, the defending Pac-10 champion, had little left after winning the 3,000 earlier in the day.