USC heads to Westwood for season’s last dual meet


For members of the USC track and field team, the meet the Trojans have been waiting for all season has finally arrived.

The Trojans will face off against UCLA on Saturday at Drake Stadium in Westwood, Calif., in the 77th annual dual meet, with the USC men’s team leading the series 41-35, while the women’s team is at a 5-21 deficit.

The two teams will go head-to-head for the first time since USC swept the dual meet last year at the Katherine B. Loker Stadium.

In last year’s edition of the dual meet, the Trojans topped the Bruins in both the women’s and men’s events.

“Our expectation coming into the season is to win the dual meet,” USC coach Ron Allice said at the outset of the outdoor season. “Everything we do is building up to that meet.”

Last season, the dual meet between USC and UCLA turned out to be the deciding factor in the Gauntlet Trophy, the annual all-sport competition between USC and UCLA. Several Trojans will try to build on strong performances at last year’s dual meet, while others attempt to rebound from tough appearances. Senior Ahmad Rashad will look to make up for his false start and disqualification in last year’s 100-meter dash.

Senior Nate Anderson and sophomores Duane Walker and Joey Hughes will return to the dual meet after helping clinch last year’s contest as members of the men’s 4×400-meter relay team.

For the USC women, junior Zsofia Erdelyi will try and duplicate her terrific performance from 2009, where she won the women’s 5,000-meter and 1,500-meter runs.

USC is also hoping for strong races from season-long stalwarts like senior hurdler Shalina Clarke and senior sprinter Elizabeth Olear, both of whom have posted times in their respective events that rank among the best in the nation.

For USC, the meet will be a chance to prove its strength before heading into what Allice termed “championship time.”

Following the dual meet, the Trojans will compete in the Pac-10 championships and the NCAA championships to close out the 2010 track season.