Women’s title decided in less than a
second
It’s a well-known sports adage that the difference between
first and second place can be a matter of seconds.
Or thousandths of seconds.
When UCLA freshman Monique Henderson edged out USC senior Angela
Williams for second place in the Pac-10 200 meter dash final on
Sunday, it was by the narrowest of margins. According to the
official records, both finished the race in 23.04 seconds;
Henderson actually took second place by less than one hundredth of
a second.
Had the order of finish been reversed, USC would have won the
meet.
Because a second-place finish earns eight team points and third
place fetches six, the Bruins’ 160-157 team victory over USC
could just as easily have been a 159-158 loss.
“At that time I didn’t know it was going to mean the
difference in the meet,” Henderson said.
“I saw that I wasn’t in first,” she said,
“but I still knew that I could do my best to get points for
my team.”
Injury update
Sprinters Chuckie Ryan and Kyle Erickson were held from practice
Monday and Tuesday because of hamstring injuries each has sustained
in the last week.
Ryan, a third-year sophomore, redshirted his freshman season
because of a hamstring injury. It was reaggravated Sunday as he ran
the anchor leg of the 4×400 meter relay at the Pac-10 final.
“It’s grim, but I’m almost 100 percent
confident he’ll be able to run,” teammate Michael
Lipscomb said about Ryan’s outlook for the NCAA finals May 29
in Baton Rouge.
Erickson injured his right hamstring in practice prior to the
Pac-10 championships. Lipscomb said both would maintain limited
practice schedules leading up to the NCAAs.
“But if anyone can come back and run a 49 (second 400
meter hurdles), it’s gonna be Kyle,” he said.
Compiled by J.P. Hoornstra, Daily Bruin Senior Staff