Ucla Has Shot At Championship Bruins Finish 1-2 In Shot Put, Threaten To End Lsu’s Streak

UCLA’s 1-2 punch in the women’s shot put, Valeyta Althouse and Dawn Dumble, finished in that order Thursday in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, enhancing the Bruins’ chances of dethroning eighttime defending champion Louisiana State.

Althouse, the American collegiate record-holder and Pac-10 champion the past two years, hurled the shot a meet-record 59 feet, 11 3/4 inches, on the first throw of the competition, in winning her first NCAA title.

The throw surpassed the previous NCAA meet best of 58-2 1/2 by Eileen Vanisi of Texas last year.

“I stood by and watched Eileen do it last year,” Althouse, the 1994 runner-up, said. “This year it was my turn.”

Arkansas, the favorite for its fourth consecutive men’s title, collected 15 1/2 points in the high jump as Ray Doakes won at 7-4 1/2 and Matt Hemingway tied for third.

In the other finals, Mario Sategna of LSU won the decathlon with a career-best 8,172 points, the most by a collegian in 1995, and Pat Itanyi of West Virginia took the women’s long jump at 22-1, the best by a collegian this year. She beat Diane GuthrieGresham of George Mason by a quarter-inch.

Althouse, a junior from Blue Springs, Mo., set the American college record of 61-10 1/4 in the Pac-10 Championships last month at Tucson, Ariz., where Dumble finished second.

Dumble was second again Thursday at 56-5 3/4, but not before giving the Bruins a scare. Dumble, a threetime NCAA champion indoors in 1992 and 1995 and outdoors in 1993 - fouled on her first two attempts in the trials and was in danger of not making the final. However, on her third attempt, she threw 55-2 3/4 to make the final, in which she improved by 15 inches.

Those were her only two fair throws of the competition, as she fouled four times.

The 1-2 finish was worth 18 points for UCLA, which is attempting to end LSU’s long reign as champion in the four-day meet that ends Saturday at the University of Tennessee’s Tom Black Stadium.

“We knew going in it was important that we get 1-2,” Althouse said. “We couldn’t afford any large mistakes because if we did, the hopes for a team title would be gone.”

Dumble felt the same way, and after her two fouls, she had much trepidation.

“I knew if I didn’t get my next throw in, I would be out of the competition, and that would mess up the team scoring,” she said.

Doakes’ victory in the high jump, on fewer misses over Ed Broxterman of Kansas State, who also cleared 7-4 1/2, was the first for a Razorback in that event in meet history.

“Finally, after all this time, I won a national championship,” said Doakes, who had finished fourth, second and fourth in the previous NCAA outdoor meets. “It wasn’t the prettiest thing, but it feels fantastic. In the past, I tried to do everything perfect and I took myself out of it.”

Doakes also has won four Southeastern Conference outdoor titles and three SEC indoor championships.

After six men’s events, Arkansas led with 25 1/2 points. The Razorbacks also had 10,000-meter champion Godfrey Siamusiye, Jason Bunston and Ryan Wilson qualify for the 5,000-meter final.

Tennessee and LSU were tied for second with 14 points.

After three events, UCLA led the women’s competition with 18 points, while George Mason had 13 and Rice and West Virginia 10 each.

While UCLA was accumlating points in the women’s shot put, LSU was loading up in the 100-meter dash. The Tigers’ three entries in the 100 won their heats - D’Andre Hill in 11.22 seconds, Zundra Feagin in 11.44 and freshman Kwajalein Butler in 11.45 - in advancing to today’s semifinals.

The men’s 100 heats produced some sparkling times, with the heat winners being Pac-10 champion Ato Boldon of UCLA in 10.10, Donovan Powell of Texas Christian in 10.11 and Bode Osagiobare of Georgia in 10.20.

Clemson’s Duane Ross, the Atlantic Coast Conference champion, won his 110-meter hurdles heat in 13.45, the best by a collegian this year. It broke the stadium mark of 13.54 set by Willie Gault in 1982.

“I stumbled out of the blocks,” Ross, a senior, said. “I think I got out dead last. I got the lead at the third hurdle.”

Houston’s Ubeja Anderson also went under the previous record, winning his heat at 13.49.

Another stadium mark tumbled in the men’s 1,600-meter relay heats, as Baylor’s foursome of Michael Ford, Raoul Howard, Corey Williams and Deon Minor clocked 3:00.60, the fastest in the world this year. The stadium record of 3:02.96 was set in 1986.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Slack eighth in decathlon

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Washington State freshman Leo Slack endured a long day of intense competition and was rewarded when his total of 7,295 points placed him eighth in the decathlon and he earned All-American honors at the NCAA Track and Field Championships. Mario Sategna from Louisiana State won the event with 8,172 points. Slack, from Kennewick, Wash., ran a personal-best time of 15.43 for 11th in the 110-meter high hurdles. His discus throw of 136-10 was eighth, but he managed a height of only 13-1 1/2 in the pole vault, 13th out of the remaining 15 competitors. Slack rebounded with a javelin throw of 196-1 for fifth place and finished the night with a personal-best time of 4:52.45 (10th) in the 1,500-meter race. Although the weather was warm (in the 80s) but not as humid as the first day, it was a grueling day as the decathlon competition began at noon EDT and the final event, the 1,500 meters, did not begin until 10:15 p.m. Slack becomes the first WSU freshman to earn All-American status in the decathlon and joins former Cougars Phil Wash (1971), Keith Collins (1982), Carlos Gambetta (1984) and Simon Shirley (1988, 1989) as WSU decathlon All-Americans. This was Slack’s fourth decathlon of his career. He finished fourth at the Pacific10 Championships earlier this month in Tucson, Ariz., with 7,407 points, which was the 12th-best mark going into the NCAA Championships, and the fifth-highest total in WSU history. Thursday’s NCAA total of 7,295 ranks eighth in the WSU record book. The third WSU competitor at the national meet is senior Christos Pallakis, a favorite in today’s pole vault competition.