Suzy Powell

If there were a gold standard for silver medals, discus thrower Suzy Powell would own it. Seven times in the last 10 years Powell has been runner-up in the national championships. "It was frustrating," Powell said. "No doubt it was frustrating." All that frustration ended last month, though, when Powell uncorked a throw of 198 feet 11 inches to win her second U.S. title and first in 11 years. Yet that wasn't even the highlight of her season.

If there were a gold standard for silver medals, discus thrower Suzy Powell would own it. Seven times in the last 10 years Powell has been runner-up in the national championships. "It was frustrating," Powell said. "No doubt it was frustrating." All that frustration ended last month, though, when Powell uncorked a throw of 198 feet 11 inches to win her second U.S. title and first in 11 years. Yet that wasn't even the highlight of her season.

With Michael Johnson having sapped the suspense out of the 400-meter final in the U.S. track and field Olympic trials Wednesday night with history's third-fastest time, the crowd of 16,735 at the Centennial Olympic Stadium had to depend on the long jumpers to provide the dramatics. They did not disappoint. When the competition began, the question on everyone's mind was whether Carl Lewis could make his fifth Olympic team.

With Michael Johnson having sapped the suspense out of the 400-meter final in the U.S. track and field Olympic trials Wednesday night with history's third-fastest time, the crowd of 16,735 at the Centennial Olympic Stadium had to depend on the long jumpers to provide the dramatics. They did not disappoint. When the competition began, the question on everyone's mind was whether Carl Lewis could make his fifth Olympic team.

UCLA freshman Seilala Sua won the discus to lead a dominant effort by the Bruin women on the first day of the NCAA track and field meet Wednesday. Sua won with a throw of 200 feet 6 inches, and teammate Suzy Powell, winner of last year's Olympic trials and the Pacific 10 Conference champion, was the runner-up at 198-7. Adding to the Bruins' total of 22 points in the event were Nada Kawar and Rachelle Noble, who finished sixth and eighth.

Cal State Northridge sophomore Cheree Hicks took advantage of breezy conditions Saturday, throwing the discus a school-record 188 feet, good for eighth place in the UC San Diego Invitational. The mark crushed Hicks' school record of 180-2 and led to her selection as the Big Sky Conference women's field event athlete of the week. Aretha Hill of the University of Washington won with a U.S. collegiate record of 215-3, with UCLA's Suzy Powell second at 213-5 and Seilala Sua third at 209-8.

UCLA's bid for a women's NCAA outdoor track and field title is on track. The Bruins lead the meet with 46 points after 10 events and three days. Texas is second with 21 points and Louisiana State third with 20. Louisiana State, which has won the team title the last 10 years, finally won an event after being scoreless the first two days. The Tigers won the 400-meter relay for the sixth consecutive year and the eighth time in the past nine years.

UCLA compiled the highest point total by a women's team in meet history and the USC won its first men's championship since winning the final Pacific 8 meet in 1978 at the Pacific 10 Conference track and field championships on Sunday in Seattle. Joanna Hayes won two hurdles titles and Suzy Powell won her second conference title in as many days for the Bruins, who scored 189.5 points and won 10 of 18 events during the two-day meet.

Gerhard Berger had the best news Saturday at Monte Carlo as drivers finished practicing and qualifying for today's Grand Prix of Monaco. "Nothing happened today," said Berger, who spoke openly of retiring after the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger during the San Marino Grand Prix weekend two weeks ago. That seemed to overshadow Michael Schumacher's record-breaking qualifying run. Schumacher, in a Benetton-Ford, won his first pole, driving the 2.06-mile street course in 1 minute 18.

UCLA sophomore Seilala Sua won her second consecutive NCAA discus title Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Buffalo, N.Y. Sua, with a winning throw of 210 feet 8 inches, outdistanced the rest of the field by more than 18 feet. She won the discus and shot put as last year's NCAA meet. Sua's victory was worth 10 points in the Bruins' bid to end Lousiana State's 11-year reign as women's champion.

Forward Michelle French, Chaminade High's career leader in assists, is one of three women's soccer players signed by Cal State Northridge, Coach Brian Wiesner said Wednesday. Northridge also signed Los Alamitos goaltender Jenny Willemse, who led the Griffins to the 1997 Southern Section Division I title, and sweeper Mia Nilsson, a native of Sweden from Citrus College. La Canada forward Erin Broadwell also has committed to the Matadors.

Carrie Garritson of Buena Park posted the best outdoors time reported in the nation this year, winning the 3,200 meters in 10:39.33 at the Arcadia/Foot Locker Invitational Saturday at Arcadia High. Competing in her first meet since the Sunkist Invitational in February, when she ran her worst race in three years, Garritson broke from the pack with 1,200 meters remaining and never looked back. "I thought we were going too slow," Garritson said. "I felt like I could have run another mile."