This post was updated Feb. 28 at 8:41 p.m. In collegiate athletics, teams build much of their success by recruiting athletes out of high school and developing them over their multi-year tenure. Read more...

Photo: Graduate student sprinter Eric Allen Jr. (pictured above) is a student in UCLA’s Applied Geospatial Information Systems and Technology Master’s program who competes for UCLA track and field. The USC transfer has already etched his name in the UCLA record books in his inaugural season donning the blue and gold. (Courtesy of Benjamin Kirk)

Traveling across multiple states for a track meet poses challenges in itself, but two Bruin athletes dealt with a different dimension of competition last weekend. UCLA track and field sent sophomore Sydney Johnson and redshirt sophomore Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck to the Washington State Open and New Mexico Collegiate Classic, respectively, as solo entries – a significant shift from their recent two meets that featured several of their Bruin counterparts. Read more...

Photo: Redshirt sophomore Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck hurdles ahead of the competition. The Cal State Northridge transfer has placed first in her first four individual races representing the blue and gold. (Courtesy of Benjamin Kirk)