Track and field continues its early-season dominance


By
 in ,

Redshirt junior and co-captain thrower Matthew Katnik won the men’s shot put event this weekend with a throw of 61-2.25. (Daily Trojan file photo)

Both the men’s and women’s track and field seasons started off with a bang at last weekend’s Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. The Trojans won a total of 13 events across the two-day meet, with impressive performances across the board. The invitational saw strong showings from both old faces and newcomers alike, a promising sign for the Trojans’ season.

USC racked up six victories on the first day of competition. Sophomore jumper Earnest Sears finished in first place in the high jump with a clearance of 7 feet 5.25 inches — a feat he managed on his first attempt at that height. That jump was Sears’ personal record and good for third on USC’s all-time leaderboard, behind only redshirt senior jumper Randall Cunningham and former star Jesse Williams.

Later in the day, the Trojans secured another victory with senior jumper Margaux Jones, who returned from an injury-plagued 2018 campaign. Jones won the women’s long jump with a leap of 19-11.00.

USC also captured first place finishes in both the men’s and women’s 600-meter race, even though USC athletes generally don’t compete in the event. Junior distance runner Isaiah Jewett, a transfer from UC Irvine, secured a win for USC in the men’s 600 in his first race as a Trojan, with a time of 1:15.95. Another newcomer gave the Trojans a first place finish in the women’s 600: freshman distance runner Jemima Russell’s time of 1:29.25 was good for a win as well.

Redshirt junior Nathan Bultman picked up another first place finish for the Trojans in the weight throw, setting a personal record with his winning toss of 67 feet 8 inches. Sophomore runner TeeTee Terry, looking to build off of a tremendous freshman year, impressed in a big way as she won the women’s 200 dash with a time of 23.31 seconds. Look for her to become one of the Trojans’ biggest names in track going forward this season.

On Saturday, the Trojans topped Friday’s win total with seven victories. Terry continued her dominance on the second day, running a 7.22 to win the women’s 60-meter dash. On the heels of Russell’s victory the previous day, another freshman, hurdler Ayden Owens, won his first event as a Trojan (the 60-meter hurdles) with a time of 7.94 seconds. The Trojans captured a victory in the women’s 60 hurdles as well — sophomore Chanel Brissett’s time of 8.07 earned her a personal record.

USC also swept both 400-meter races, with sophomore hurdler Cameron Samuel running a personal record 47.94 to win the men’s event and sophomore sprinter Kaelin Roberts running a 52.54 to win the women’s. Redshirt junior thrower and co-captain Matthew Katnik, coming off of a strong 2018 season, won his first event of the year in the men’s shot put.

The final USC victory of the invitational came from the women’s 4×400 relay team, comprising freshmen Bailey Lear, Lanae-Tava Thomas and Alyssa Brewer, and junior Kyra Constantine, who won their race with a time of 3:40.90.

With a near-ideal start to the season now in their back pocket, the Trojans will set their sights on the Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock this Friday and Saturday. They’ll compete against stronger competition than they faced in last week’s meet, with multiple Big-12 schools set to attend. The Trojans’ performance at the meet will deliver a clearer picture of what to expect from this squad for the remainder of the season.