CLAIRE ZUGMEYER/Daily Bruin Freshman Alejandra Barrientos
(right) comes in first in the 5000 meter race as the Bruins beat
USC with a 111-92 victory in the dual meet.
By J.P. Hoornstra
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
At this point, the running of the 4×400-meter relay was merely
obligatory. UCLA, up 106-89, had already clinched an upset victory
over top-ranked USC, its 10th in a row in the Big Meet. And there,
lined up in a loose row on the west side of the track, stood all
but four members of the women’s track and field team.
It was one of those rare moments outside of Team Picture Day
when the entire team stood so focused as one group, watching a
seemingly inconsequential race. Along with a thunderous crowd
““ most of the 8,094 announced attendants still remained
““ the eyes of the team were fixed on the only four athletes
still contending with pre-race butterflies.
But what more could they expect from Monique Henderson, the
anchor of the race, the freshman who earlier secured a trip to the
NCAA finals in Baton Rouge? Henderson had ran the 400 meters in
51.33. It was the third-fastest time in the world this year, first
in all the NCAA, her season best and the second-lowest 400 time in
UCLA history.
“I just wanted to win bad, so I dug down and gave it all I
got,” she said afterward. “I knew it would have to be a
fast time because I was racing with a really good girl.”
Or from sophomore Sheena Johnson, slated to touch the baton
third? Johnson was so exhausted after her performance in the
400-meter hurdles, she wasn’t sure that another race was in
her. Her time of 56.56 seconds shaved more than a second off her
previous season-low of 57.60, sending her to the NCAAs and
launching her from fifth to first in the country.
“I’ve been working on (hurdling) the last week a
lot, and I finally got a step pattern that was good for me,”
she said.
Johnson, more than Henderson, was visibly drained after her
record-setting race, hunching over the ground and stretching
against the concrete stadium wall with a grimace on her face.
“That was the longest race I’ve had in two weeks. It
took a lot out of me.”
Among those cheering from the sideline, junior Tiffany Burgess
could also claim the title of best in the country on this historic
day. Her personal-best 800-meter time of 2:03.73 broke Francie
Larrieu’s 1974 school record of 2:04.73 and automatically
qualified her for Baton Rouge on May 29.
Eight other event winners looked on with Burgess: freshman
Carolyn Shea (10:57.18 in the 3000-meter steeplechase), freshman
Alejandra Barrientos (17:23.26 in the 5000-meter run), sophomore
Lena Nilsson (4:26.66 in the 1500-meter run), sophomore Cari Soong
(209 feet, 1 inch in the hammer throw), senior Darnesha Griffith
(5-8 3/4 in the high jump), freshman Jessica Cosby (54-10 in the
shot put), senior Tracy O’Hara (13-0 3/4 in the pole vault),
and junior Chaniqua Ross (178-10 in the discus).
The whole team was focused on the final event, as senior Bunmi
Ogunleye handed off to Adia McKinnon, McKinnon to Johnson. With one
lap to go, USC had opened up a 10-foot lead on the Bruins. But
Henderson skillfully narrowed the gap. With about three-quarters of
the final leg to go, she passed the USC anchor and didn’t
look back.
After 3:32.02, a sea of blue flooded the finish line as the
Bruins on the sideline poured into the track to congratulate the
winning relay team.
At that moment, the consequence of the race was revealed. It
meant the 69th Big Meet was over, and the record books would never
be the same.