Following a strong performance in last week’s season opener at the Spokane Sports Showcase, the Trojan track and field team continued its success at the Stan Scott Invite in Lubbock, Texas, on Friday, with both the men’s and women’s squads each winning four events.

Coming off last year’s impressive indoor season, which saw the men take home an NCAA championship and the women earn a third-place finish, USC’s early results indicate both squads could again contend for a national title.

“We have some really good bright spots, and then we have some other spots where we need to continue to work,” said USC Track and Field Director Quincy Watts, the 2025 NCAA Men’s Coach of the Year. “That’s what these early meets are for.”

Men post fastest 4×400 time in the country

One of the most exciting performances of the day came in the last event: the men’s 4×400-meter relay. Fighting against Ohio State in a close race from the start, senior sprinter William Jones closed with a 44.13 split to give the Trojans a victory and the fastest time in the country this season.

Senior sprinters Jaelen Knox and Garrett Kaalund — Kaalund was last week’s Big Ten Co-Athlete of the Week — along with freshman Jack Stadlman rounded out the victorious four-man squad. The Trojan’s 4×400-meter B team, made up of Jacob Andrews, Nickolas Miller, Chase McCallum and Wiaan Martin, finished less than eight seconds behind and earned a fifth-place finish.

Another highlight for the men came in the 60-meter final. Junior Edward Nketia took home the title, running 6.58 seconds — a top-10 time nationally this season. Kaalund and freshman Cordial Vann secured second and third place, running 6.61 and 6.62, respectively.

Sophomore distance runner Chase McCallum earned another title for the Trojans in the 800-meter final. Running in second place until the final 200 meters, Chase outsprinted Texas Tech’s Fikadu Gonzalez en route to a 1:49.92 time. McCallum’s performance was nearly four seconds faster than his 1:53.82 time at last week’s meet.

Sophomore Kaden Garland served as USC’s only representative of the men’s team in the field events, managing to win the shot-put competition with a throw of 16.74 meters and giving the men’s squad its fourth first-place medal.

Awoleye dominates 800-meter final

The women’s squad also secured four first-place finishes, but none of these wins were as dominant as Oluwatosin Awoleye’s performance in the 800-meter final. Awoleye ran 2:08:83, beating the second-place finisher — Lubbock Christian University freshman Isabella Jaime, who ran 2:21.13 — by over 12 seconds.

After just the first 200 meters, Awoleye began to separate from the field and led the rest of the way, racing only against the clock.

“She’s been winning by 50 to 60 meters,” Watts said. “She’s just waiting on some competition.”

USC’s women placed well in the short sprints, winning the 60-meter and 60-meter hurdle finals. In the 60-meter, sophomore Brianna Selby posted a time of 7.21 seconds to win the title with a top-10 time in the country this season. Fellow sophomores Rachael Uvieghara and Olivia Pace rounded out the race with fourth- and fifth-place finishes, respectively.

In the 60-meter hurdles, graduate sprinter Asjah Atkinson edged Texas Tech’s Symoria Adkins by 0.05 seconds, winning with a time of 8.18. Junior Nonah Waldron also earned points in the event, placing fourth overall.

The final gold medal for the women came at the hands of sophomore thrower Ashley Erasmus. She threw for 16.67 meters in the shot put, beating second place by over 2 and a half meters.

“The competition is getting better and better each week,” Watts said. “I like the trend that I’m seeing. It’s the same trend that we had last year. [Our men and women’s teams] are getting better and better each week.”

The track and field team will be back in action Friday at the DeLoss Dodds Invite hosted by Kansas State.