As the spring rolls around once again, the Trojans will gear up for an exciting season of indoor and outdoor track and field. Both the men’s and women’s teams hope to catapult off of last year’s successes at the NCAA championships and maintain USC’s storied history of excellence in athletics. Under the tutelage of two-time Olympic gold medalist and Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Quincy Watts, the track and field squads are set up for another year of outstanding performances.

The Trojans started the season strong Jan. 17 in Washington, cleaning up at the 2025 Spokane Sports Showcase with nine event wins. Champions in the women’s events were junior sprinter Dajaz DeFrand in the 60- meter dash, senior distance runner Gigi Maccagnini in the 1000 meters and junior sprinter Christine M. Mallard in the 300-meter dash.

Men’s event champions were senior jumper and hurdler Johnny Brackins Jr. in the 60-meter hurdles, graduate sprinter Johnnie Blockburger in the 200-meter dash; graduate distance runner Alfredo Reina Corona in the 3000 meters; junior sprinters William Jones and Max Thomas in the 600-meters and 60-meter dash, respectively; and junior long jumper JC Stevenson in the long jump.

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Brackins Jr. was the standout of the meet, running the 60-meter hurdles in 7.49 seconds and setting a new program record. He was named Big Ten Co-Track Athlete on Wednesday after a dream start to his 2025 campaign.

To make some of these wins even more impressive, Watts said that not all Trojan athletes had competed in their regular events.

“It was just an open-air opportunity to break up training. A lot of our athletes, they did events that are not of the norm,” Watts said. “But this year, you’ll see … we’ll have more athletes competing in their designated event areas as we get ready for the National Championships.”

Friday, a week after the meet in Spokane, the team picked up another seven event wins at the Red Raider Invite in Lubbock, Texas.

Back-to-back meet winners were Stevenson in the 60-meter dash, Jones in the 600-meter, Thomas in the 200-meter dash and Brackins Jr. in the 60-meter hurdles.

Additional winners included junior sprinter and Olympian Yemi John, who earned the top spot in the women’s 600- meter race with a jaw-dropping time of 1:18:55, making her the seventh-fastest collegiate athlete in the history of the event.

The women’s team showed out in the 60-meter dash. Senior sprinter Samirah Moody finished first with a time of 7.15. The next four slots all featured her Trojan teammates: junior sprinter Dajaz DeFrand, along with freshmen sprinters Rachael Uvieghara, Avery Lewis and Brianna Selby rounded out the top five.

The women’s 4×400 meter relay gave the Trojans their final event win. The team is made up of John, Moody, freshman sprinter Maira Scott and sophomore sprinter Madison Whyte.

There is a reason the Trojans look so impressive to start the season. For women’s track and field, USC boasts the best recruiting class in the country. In total, 33 new student-athletes joined the USC roster for the 2025 season. The impact of the infusion of talent, serving both to improve the team and motivate the veterans on the squad, has been evident early in the season.

“[We are] cooking with a lot of talent out here,” Watts said at practice Wednesday. “There’s young talent. We have a great mix of freshmen, underclassmen. We got senior leadership. We got some grad students. So, right now we have a perfect blend, and practice is very intense, and everyone seems to be focused.”

Last season, the women’s team tied for tenth place overall at the 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships Team Final. The men’s team came even closer to a national title, earning third place in the Team Final.

With an improved roster and quick start to the season, Watts is locked in on getting USC into the pole position at the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships in 2025.

“We almost won it … Going into the last race, we had a chance to win a national championship,” Watts said.

The indoor championships may not be until March, and the outdoor finals don’t begin until June, but the Trojans are already letting their lofty ambitions be known.

The next meet for USC track and field will be in Albuquerque at the indoor New Mexico Collegiate Classic, from Feb. 7 to 8.