UCLA’s Baucham Bounded To TJ CR In 2005

Candice Baucham of UCLA enjoyed the best day of her triple jumping career at the 2005 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Sacramento, California.

Who wouldn’t have?

Five of Baucham’s six efforts were her longest ever. Her final jump broke a 15-year-old meet record at 14.07m (46-2) – the old record by Sheila Hudson was an American record at the time.

Baucham caught almost everyone by surprise, as most figured two other jumpers were better – reigning NCAA Indoor champion Gisele de Oliveira of Clemson or Erica McLain, a Stanford freshman who beat Baucham at the recent Pacific-10 Championships.

Thanks to some nice tailwinds, big jumps came early with Baucham taking an early lead in Round 1 with a PR 13.62m (44-8¼) that was quickly matched by de Oliveira. Baucham broke the tie in Round 2 with a 13.79m (45-3) that was wind-aided but again her farthest ever.

Baucham got even better on her last three efforts, with each improving her legal-wind PR to a final-round effort of 14.07m (46-2) to take down the meet record. De Oliveira was the only other jumper over 45-feet as Baucham’s winning margin was an impressive 0.34m (13½ inches).

Breaking 46-feet was a goal of Baucham’s even though she entered the meet not having done 45-feet.

 “My second jump was a personal record, so I was satisfied with that,” Baucham told Jeff Eisenberg of the Daily Bruin. “But my coaches knew I had more in me and it just kept coming. I was glad that it came up on the last one.”

One who gave notice that something could be on the horizon was her jumps coach, Robert Johnson, the now-Oregon head coach who was himself an NCAA scorer in the event for Appalachian State (7th in 1996). “Her training the last six to eight weeks has been unbelievable,” Johnson told Eisenberg a month before the NCAA meet. “I ask her to jump the moon, and she does it.”