USC track and field sought to follow up a terrific showing in Spokane, Washington Saturday morning, winning six events in Texas A&M’s Nelson Invitational against ASU, Clemson, Tennessee and the University of Houston.

Perhaps the most electrifying event of the day was the women’s 4×400 meter relay. 

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Not only did USC’s A team place first in the event, but they also set a meet record with an overall time of 3:32:48, surpassing the previous meet record set by Texas in 2016. 

The women’s 4x400m relay team has won the Pac-12 championship title nine out of the last 10 seasons, a fact that proves this team can take flight. 

The competition — USC, A&M, and ASU — are currently three of the top five teams in the entire country for this event.

The race was neck and neck, showing the athletic excellence of sophomore sprinter Yemi John, who was shoulder-to-shoulder with Tennessee. Once the handoff to freshman sprinter Madison Whyte was completed, the results were in: Whyte injected a bit of pace into the last lap to secure first place for the Trojans.

Another strong performance came in the women’s 400m, where the Trojans took the first three places. Whyte finished first with a time of 52.59. 

The Trojans put on a show during the men’s 400m finals, with sophomore sprinters William Jones and Justin Braun, as well as senior Johnnie Blockburger, finishing first, third and fourth, respectively. Jones’ personal best 45.90 leads the NCAA and ranks third in USC history. 

From gliding through the women’s 60m hurdle preliminaries to setting a meet record and season best of 8.02, replacing the former record of 8.22 made in 2013, junior hurdler, sprinter and jumper Jasmine Jones had a monumental day at the Invitational.

The women’s 200m marked sophomore sprinter Jassani Carter’s first-place win and personal time of 23.15, beating out the other 19 competitors. She surpassed her former best time of 22.77 in the 2023 NCAA Semifinal. 

Freshman distance runner Nathan Cumberbatch, who boasted an 800m personal record of 1:48.20 — fifth among all-male high schoolers — finished second in the men’s 800m finals with a time of 1:49.43, a personal record.

In the men’s 3000m finals, junior Morgan Fierro placed second in 8:28.23, the second-best time in USC’s all-time history. Fierro also placed third in the mile race. 

Sophomore jumper JC Stevenson exhibited a personal best of 6.69 in the men’s 60m finals, only narrowly coming second to senior Shaun Maswanganyi (6.65). Maswanganyi won third place in the men’s 100m of the 2023 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

USC’s successes extended to the field events, where sophomore jumper Gavin Champ won the men’s triple jump with a personal record of 15.10 meters. Sophomore jumper Jada Foreman finished in third place in the women’s triple jump with her personal best of 12.36 meters.

The Trojans will return to the track Jan. 26 when they compete at the Arkansas Razorback Invitational.