At some point in the next few years, Eitan Goore is going to stop being a UCLA track and field athlete, and then people will realize how much of the program's texture they had been taking for granted. He arrived on campus for the 2021-22 season and has been competing for the Bruins every year since, which puts him in his sixth season with the program and earns him whatever superlative the coaching staff is willing to apply. "Super duper senior" has been floated, and it seems about right.
On Saturday, April 11, Goore will compete at Drake Stadium in the UCLA home meet, a fact that would be moderately interesting on its own. What makes it notable is that April 11 is also his birthday. He will spend part of his birthday doing what he has spent most of his twenties doing: representing UCLA on the track. If that is not the kind of detail that makes you want to show up to Drake Stadium, it is not clear what would.
Track and field events at Drake Stadium are among the more consistently underattended athletic competitions UCLA offers, which is a genuine shame given the quality of the program and the setting. Drake Stadium, tucked into the western edge of campus below the soccer facility, is an intimate venue with good sightlines and the kind of proximity to the competition that most sports arenas do not allow. You can watch an athlete work through their event from close enough to see the effort on their face. That closeness is not available at Pauley Pavilion on a sold-out night, but it is available on a Saturday afternoon at a track meet.
The UCLA track and field program has produced consistent conference competitors and NCAA qualifiers across its field events and distance rotations. The spring schedule, which moves into its competitive peak through April and into May, provides regular home dates for students who want to support the program without navigating the logistics of away travel. Saturday's meet is one of the best remaining opportunities on the spring calendar.
First event goes off at 10 a.m. Drake Stadium. Go find Eitan Goore on the start list and then go watch him compete on his birthday. The meet is free. There is no reason not to go.