Men’s track and field wins indoor national title
The Trojans ran away with their first Indoor Track & Field Championship in 53 years.
By ETHAN INMAN
The USC men’s track and field team won the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship at Virginia Beach Sports Center on Saturday, scoring 39 points to outpace the rest of the field.
This marked the third indoor national title in USC men’s track and field program history, and the first in over fifty years. The Trojans most recently won in 1972, and captured their first title in 1967.
The Trojans had 6 more points than second-place Georgia, but running up their tally took a total team effort as they won no individual national championships.
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The result wasn’t without a bit of extra drama, as USC had to wait an hour longer than expected to celebrate its national title while Arkansas submitted a protest related to the 4×400 event. Texas A&M was ruled to have flagrantly impeded Arkansas, and the Aggies were disqualified from the relay. However, the Razorbacks’ request that they be allowed to rerun the race on the track alone was denied. When the dust settled, the Trojans were confirmed as the national champions.
Nine men earned indoor event first-team All-America honors during the championship, including junior Elias Gerald, graduate student Brady Palen, senior Travis Williams, junior JC Stevenson, junior William Jones, senior Johnny Brackins Jr., junior Garrett Kaalund, graduate student Johnnie Blockburger and sophomore Jacob Andrews.
Jones, Kaalund and Blockburger each earned two first team All-America honors.
The USC women’s track and field team also turned in good results this weekend, earning third place in the indoor national championships, their highest result since they finished second in 2019. Junior Dajaz DeFrand won an individual national title in the women’s 60m dash final, making her the only Trojan to win an individual national title.
USC’s next meet will be their only one on its home track this season. The Trojans will be racing at the Colich Throws Center on Friday, and Allyson Felix Field at Katherine B. Loker Track Stadium & Colich Center on Saturday, as USC will compete in the Ron & Sharlene Allice Trojan Invitational.
