Track and field athletes to face top competition in NCAA championships

Daily Bruin After the extensive indoor season, the Bruins will top it off at the long-anticipated NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Four of UCLA track and field’s top athletes – two jumpers and two throwers – will take part this weekend in College Station, Texas.
Redshirt sophomore thrower Dotun Ogundeji, senior thrower Torie Owers, senior long jumper Austin Hazel and 11th-seed sophomore high jumper Michael Burke all share the same hope of delivering a performance worthy of first-team All-American status, which comes with a top-eight finish.
Given this is one of track’s biggest meets of the year, the field will feature top competition from around the country.
For Ogundeji, it will be his second time competing at this particular meet and after coming in 12th last year, he feels confident he has what it takes to place within the top eight.
Ogundeji faces strong All-American returners such as the top thrower in the nation, Colorado State junior Mostafa Hassan, Virginia redshirt junior Filip Mihaljevic, who’s seeded third this year and sophomore Denzel Comenentia, the ninth seed from Georgia.
Of the three, Mihaljevic had the farthest throw at last year’s championships. He finished second at indoor nationals, followed by Hassan who finished fifth and Comenentia who finished eighth.
However, Ogundeji is most looking forward to competing against his high school rival, USC sophomore thrower Matthew Katnik, and Indiana sophomore Willie Morrison.
In high school, Katnik and Ogundeji consistently threw personal bests against each other at the same meets, and Morrison threw only one centimeter shorter than Ogundeji to qualify.
“I competed against (Morrison) at USA Championships last year, and he only throws at big meets,” Ogundeji said. “He throws big at the beginning of the season to qualify and then he tapers off to make sure he’s ready to compete at big meets like the NCAAs.”
Owers, who is ...


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