USC track and field prepare for invitational


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Following its recent success at the Claremont Relays this past weekend, the USC track and field team is competing in the Ben Brown Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. this weekend with the intention of continuing to improve.

According to director Ron Allice, the team is still in the evaluation and training stage of the season.

Allice also spoke about how the team is constantly looking to improve towards a peak at the important meets of the season. In the early parts of the season, athletes use the meets as a chance to qualify for later, more important meets where winning is more important.

“This meet is part of the evaluation process on behalf of the coaching staff to see the results of our preparation,” Allice said. “It’s a way for the athletes to hopefully progress and see all of our hard work, that started in September, start to pay off.“

The track and field season is different from most athletic seasons in that the coaches must bring the athletes to a physical peak at the end of the season, where results really count.

“With track and field, nobody can help you but yourself,” Allice said. “You prepare your body to perform, and if you rush it or try to take shortcuts, ultimately your potential is stagnated or interrupted. We try to bring people around where it really counts.”

USC will be sending all of its athletes besides the male sprinters, although many will be competing in events that are not their specialization in order to train and prepare.

So far, the team has looked prepared. At the Claremont Relays last weekend, USC looked strong, with thirteen individual top five finishes as well as several relay wins, despite battling sub-40 degree weather and hail.

Freshman Laura Blackburn was the winner in the 100-meter high hurdles, finishing .75 seconds ahead of second place with a time of 13.81 seconds. Sophomore Thea Weiss won the women’s pole vault with a jump of 10-6.00ft, and Taylor Slingsby won the men’s with a jumb of 15-5.50ft. Sophomore Tyler Ruiz and freshman Viktor Fajoyomi won the high jump with jumps of 6-8.00 and 6-6.00 respectively.

“Everybody from the sprinters all the way up through the middle distance group looked pretty good for where we are at this point in time,” Allice said. “The staff was generally pleased with what we saw. With weather like that, you just want to make sure you get out of there healthy.”

The Ben Brown Invitational will take place Saturday and Sunday in Fullerton, Calif.