Feb. 23, 2011

The men's and women's track and field teams will travel to Seattle, WA to compete at the 2011 MPSF Indoor Championships this Friday and Saturday. Last season, the men won the team crown, while the women placed fifth.

UCLA heads to the meet with several athletes who will be vying for individual crowns including two of the top freshmen in the nation, weight throwers Alec Faldermeyer and Ida Storm. Both freshmen hold the top marks in the MPSF and rank in the top 15 nationally. Senior Ashlea McLaughlin will be in the title hunt in two events, the 400m and 800m, while senior Lindsay Rowe is favored in the 60m hurdles. Another senior, Jonathan Clark, heads into the meet as the favorite in the triple jump.

Below is a list of athletes ranked in the top 8 of the MPSF
Men's 60m
8. (tie) Damien Thigpen (6.89)

Men's 200m
3. (tie) Maxwell Dyce (21.41)
5. Karlton Rolle (21.48)

Men's 4x400m Relay
7. 3:15.67

Men's Distance Medley Relay
5. 9:39.62

Men's Pole Vault
4. Greg Woepse (17-1)

Men's Triple Jump
1. Jonathan Clark (51-10.50)

Men's Shot Put
8. Mark Weber (55-10.25)

Men's Weight Throw
1. Alec Faldermeyer (68-2.25)

Women's 400m
3. Ashlea McLaughlin (53.95)
4. Turquoise Thompson (54.21)
6. Joy Eaton (54.58)

Women's 800m
4. Ashlea McLaughlin (2:07.66)

Women's 60m Hurdles
1. Lindsay Rowe (8.18)

Women's 4x400m Relay
3. (tie) 3:36.77

Women's Distance Medley Relay
4. 11:47.83

Women's Pole Vault
7. (tie) Allison Koressel (12-10)

Women's High Jump
6. (tie) Alexis Walker (5-8)

Women's Triple Jump
2. Ke'Nyia Richardson (40-11.50)

Women's Weight Throw
1. Ida Storm (65-4.75)

Casey DiCesare and Trent Perez will compete in the heptathlon, while Kimmie Conner and Tatum Souza will compete in the pentathlon.

One of UCLA's top athletes will not compete this weekend. Senior 800m runner Cory Primm will stay home to rest an injury he's been dealing with during the indoor season. Primm has already achieved the NCAA auto mark in the 800m and is already guaranteed a spot at NCAAs.

Events begin on Friday at 12:30 pm, while Saturday's events start at 11:00 am.