UCLA INVITATIONAL: MEET SOUNDS LIKE BROKEN RECORDS.Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer Dan Ames, UCLA's latest standout shot putter, predicted ``fireworks'' in his star-studded specialty Saturday. The three-year All-American was right on with his prediction, producing a national collegiate season best of 66 feet, 1 inch, the fifth-best mark in UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX history, in a runner-up effort behind former Bruins great John Godina John Carl Godina (born May 31, 1972 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma) is an American shot putter, whose record includes three World Championship wins and two Olympic medals. He also competes in discus. , whose winning 67-11 is second best in the world this year. But even with that, Ames might have understated the fireworks fireworks: see pyrotechnics. fireworks Explosives or combustibles used for display. Of ancient Chinese origin, fireworks evidently developed out of military rockets and explosive missiles and accompanied the spread of military explosives westward to at the second annual Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner Kersee Track and Field Invitational. An appreciative crowd of approximately 2,000 at UCLA's Drake Stadium Drake Stadium is a stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. It is primarily used for the Drake Relays, and is the home field of the Drake University Bulldogs. It opened in 1925 and currently holds 14,557 people. A large scale renovation of the stadium was completed in 2006. was treated to a half-dozen world, collegiate, national or Bruins' season-bests as well as 23 meet records on an overcast day spiced early by marks in the shot put. In addition to the Godina-Ames duel that also gave 1995 UCLA graduate and multiple world champion Godina the best U.S. shot put mark of the year, the women's shot put produced a U.S. best and No. 2 world mark in Kristin Heaston's winning effort of 59-6. Brenda Taylor, running for Sheffield Elite Track Club, added a world season best in the women's 400 hurdles, winning in 55.05. Michelle Perry Michelle Perry (born 1 May 1979 in Granada Hills, California) is an American athlete. At the 2004 Summer Olympics she placed 14th overall in the heptathlon competition. Later, at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics, she was awarded a gold medal in the 100 m hurdles with a , running for Nike, won the women's 100 hurdles with the time of 13.03 seconds that is a U.S. season best. And UCLA graduate Jesse Strutzel, posted a U.S. season best of 1:46.80 in a second-place finish Noun 1. second-place finish - a finish in second place (as in a race) runner-up finish finish - designated event that concludes a contest (especially a race); "excitement grew as the finish neared"; "my horse was several lengths behind at the finish"; "the in the men's 800 meters behind Simon Kimata, whose winning 1:46.48 was one of those 23 meet records. Another of them came in the women's pole vault pole vault Track-and-field event consisting of a vault for height over a crossbar with the aid of a long pole. It became a competitive sport in the mid-19th century and was included in the first modern Olympic Games. , where Chelsea Johnson of UCLA won at 14-6 and just missed at 15-1, which would have been the third time she has raised the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association record this year. ``It felt pretty good today,'' said Johnson, who has been vaulting just three years. ``My second vault at 15-1 definitely felt like my best of the day.'' The HS International 400 men's relay team of Handan Al'Bishi, Ato Boldon Ato Jabari Boldon (born December 30, 1973) is a retired athlete from Trinidad and Tobago, the 1997 200 m World Champion and four-time Olympic medal winner. Only 2 other men in history, Frankie Fredericks of Namibia and Carl Lewis of the USA, have won as many Olympic individual , Maurice Greene and Carron Conwright got the crowd warmed up early in the running events, winning with a time of 38.90 that broke the meet record by nearly a second and was fifth fastest in the world this year. ``We came out here to put on a show,'' said Greene, the 2002 world champion in the 100 meters, who plans to begin his 2004 phase of that event next week. ``I'm going to open the 100 meters up at the Mt. SAC Relays.'' Al'Bishi kept the shot going with a meet-record win in the 400 (45.79), and former UCLA standout Kyle Erickson of the Bush Wackers won the 400 hurdles in a 49.41 time that was both a meet record and more than a second better than his previous best. ``I was prepared and I knew it was just a matter of time before I broke out with a big time,'' said Erickson, who ran about a second faster than he expected and wound up with the third-fastest U.S. time in that event this year.'' Another former Bruin, Perry, said competing in familiar surroundings helped her effort in winning the women's 100 hurdles in a meet-record time. ``It was good to compete against some of my old teammates,'' she said after outdistancing runner-up Sheena Johnson of the Bruins, whose 13.22 was 1/100 of a second off the previous meet record. ``I practice here, so I'm used to the track,'' Perry said. Dave Shelburne, (818) 713-3609 dave.shelburne(at)dailynews.com |
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