The biggest addition for this year’s cross country squad is not a player but a coach: Brenda Martinez, who represented Team USA at the 2016 Olympics and won a silver medal in the 800-meter at the 2013 International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships. In July, Martinez took over as both the cross country head coach and an assistant coach for distance for track and field. 

“It’s super exciting,” Martinez said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “New faces to me, obviously, but I think what’s been the best part of my job so far has been just how energetic the girls are, how motivated they are just to come to practice.”

Before Martinez joined the team in July, the eight Trojan runners didn’t have structured practices and had to practice on their own. 

USC did not qualify for placement at its first meet

At the season-opening Pepperdine Waves Invitational on Aug. 29, USC did not place due to only four runners competing when five are required to qualify for a placement. All four Trojans finished inside the top 30 of 69 runners in the four-kilometer race. 

Sophomore Holland Prest led the way in her collegiate debut, placing 13th with a time of 14:19.7. Senior Jacqueline Duarte followed in 17th at 14:27.0, with junior Haley Spoden crossing in 25th at 14:44.1 and junior Isabella Duarte close behind in 28th at 14:46.7. 

The squad average of 14:34 would have slotted them 4th overall, between California State University, Northridge and Pepperdine. 

However, time gaps between runners said a lot about the squad. Jacqueline and Isabella Duarte as well as Spoden were 20 to 27 seconds behind Prest. Even if USC had completed with a fifth runner, the team still has to keep doing the hard work and keep pace in the league.

‘We’re trying to build’

Despite not placing at their first meet, Martinez’s training philosophy has already made an impression on the team. Jacqueline Duarte said Martinez is adaptable to the individual runner. 

“[Martinez]’s not coming in saying, ‘This is how I want to do it. You guys are going to do it this way,’” Jacqueline Duarte said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “It’s more of a collaboration process, which is so important with runners.”

On the runners’ side, the Trojans will move forward without Helena Teixeira-Dasilva, a consistent team leader who graduated after last season. Across her four races in 2024, Teixeira-Dasilva led the Trojans in two — one being USC’s first-ever Big Ten Championship — and finished second in the other two. 

Looking to step up in her place is Jacqueline Duarte, who over the summer was named a Big Ten Runner, among 18 other athletes to watch after placing 21st at the Waves Invitational last season. 

Other returners to the squad include Isabella Duarte and Spoden as well as senior Lucia Rabolli. Freshman Oluwatosin Awoleye and sophomore Prest look to add strength to the roster; even with the two newcomers, though, the team stands at just eight players

The Trojans have two more regular season meets this season, both in Riverside. The first, UC Riverside Invitational, is Sept. 27, and the team closes the regular season Oct. 18 in the Highlander classic.

The Big Ten Championships will take place on Oct. 31 in East Lansing, Michigan. 

They hope to improve on last year’s 33rd-place finish at the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento on Nov. 14 to qualify for the NCAA Championship on Nov. 22. 

The Trojans will compete in the UC Riverside Invitational on Sept. 27 at Riverside, California.

Nicholas Corral contributed to this report.