June 21, 2002
The UCLA women's track & field team had 10 athletes on the Academic All-Pac-10 team, led by first-team members -- sophomore sprinter Nicole Gaskins and sophomore pole vaulter Gail Larsen.
Gaskins, from Rancho Cucamonga (Diamond Bar HS), is a communications studies major with a cumulative grade point average of 3.813. She has the highest gpa on the Bruin women's track & field team and the ninth-best gpa among UCLA women athletes. In 2002, Gaskins was an alternate on the Bruins' 4 X 400m relay at the NCAA Outdoor and at the Pac-10 meet, she ran the second leg on UCLA's 4 X 100m relay (fifth-place, 46.53) and also qualified in the 400m hurdles (with a personal-best 1:00.24).
Larsen, from Spokane, WA (Ferris HS), has a 3.75 gpa and is majoring in biology. At the 2002 Pac-10 meet, Larsen placed fifth in the pole vault, with a mark of 12-10 (personal-best, No. 4 in school history).
Earning Second-Team
Earning second-team Academic All-Pac-10 were junior Chaniqua Ross and
senior Heather Sickler. Both Ross and Sickler were also Verizon Academic
All-American second-team choices.
Ross, from Elk Grove (Laguna Creek HS), had a highly successful 2002 Outdoor campaign. At the NCAA, she won the discus (182-0) and successfully defended her discus title at the Pac-10 meet (180-8).
Sickler, who earned NCAA Outdoor All-American honors as a junior in 2001, has a personal-best vault mark of 13-3.50, No. 3 in school history.
Earning Honorable Mention
Seven Bruin women earned Academic Pac-10 Honorable Mention. They are-
junior vaulter Karen Bewley (Atascadero HS), junior 800m runner Tiffany Burgess (Van Nuys/Birmingham HS), senior javelin thrower Brooke
Fitzgerald (Santa Margarita HS), junior distance runner Kelly Grimes (San
Diego/Scripps Ranch), sophomore hurdler Sheena Johnson (Stafford,
VA/Garfield HS), a five-time All-American and two time (2002-01) Pac-10
400m hurdle champion, senior javelin thrower Suzanne Linn (Mission
Viejo/Trabuco Hills) and junior sprinter Kristen Tucker (San Diego/Monte
Vista HS).