After a highly successful regular season of indoor meets, the Trojan track and field team kicked off its postseason over the weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana, at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. USC athletes impressed across the three-day event, breaking two school records and three Big Ten meet records.

The women’s squad finished with 81 points overall, earning them third place in the conference. Meanwhile, the men finished in sixth place, recording a total of 44 points.

Although the women’s team tied its third-place finish from last season, this year’s group was significantly closer to the top teams. Last weekend, the Trojan women were only 20 points away from the first-place team, Oregon, compared to 55 points from the top spot a year ago.

The men’s squad continued to impress with commanding individual performances, but this year’s group lacked the depth of the 2025 team that placed second at the Big Ten Championships.

Trojan women win four Big Ten titles

USC women dominated in the sprint distances, recording three individual titles in the 60-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter finals.

After running a top-five time in the world in her last race, junior sprinter Madison Whyte continued her record-setting season with a first-place finish in the 400-meter final, finishing with a time of 51.31 seconds. Whyte’s performance broke both the Big Ten meet record and the facility record at the Fall Creek Pavilion.

In the 60-meter final, Trojan athletes finished in first, second and fourth, earning 23 total points for their team. Sophomore sprinter Brianna Selby led the way with a time of 7.24 seconds en route to her first Big Ten title. Sophomore sprinters Olivia Pace and Mia Brahe-Pederson were close behind, running 7.30 and 7.33 for second and fourth place, respectively.

USC combined for 21 points in the 200-meter final, led by Big Ten champion senior sprinter Christine Mallard. Mallard recorded a time of 22.77 seconds, improving on her best early-season result by nearly 0.4 seconds.

Brahe-Pederson completed the 60-meter and 200-meter double, finishing third in the 200-meter final with a time of 23.14. Sophomore sprinter Rachael Uvieghara finished narrowly behind, with a personal best of 23.19 and a fourth-place finish.

In the 60-meter hurdles final, graduate sprinter Asjah Atkinson and sophomore sprinter Lillian Harden tacked on more points for their team, placing third and eighth in the field, respectively.

The 4×400 team, made up of freshman sprinters Joelle Trepagnier and Madison Mosby as well as senior sprinter Dajaz DeFrand and Whyte, added a fourth title for the Trojans in the final event of the meet, recording a meet record time of 3:28.89.

Although the sprinting events recorded the vast majority of the squad’s points, two USC athletes also scored valuable points in the field events to propel the squad to its third-place finish. Junior jumper Alyssa Hope recorded a personal best of 6.32 meters in the long jump, earning her fifth place in the conference.

Sophomore thrower Ashley Erasmus improved upon her formidable start to the season in the shot put, throwing a personal best of 17.94 meters. That mark earned her a spot in USC’s record book, narrowly surpassing Brittany Mann’s record that has stood since 2017.

Kaalund runs third-fastest time ever

Three weeks after senior sprinter Garrett Kaalund ran the fastest time in the world for this year in his first 200-meter race of the season, the senior sprinter found a way to run even faster, earning the Big Ten conference title with a time of 20.06 seconds.

Beyond setting a meet record, a facility record and a new school record, that mark is the second-best time ever recorded in the NCAA and makes Kaalund the world’s all-time third-fastest athlete in the indoor 200-meter.

Freshman sprinter Jack Stadlman also recorded a Big Ten title for the Trojans in the 400-meter final. Stadlman, who holds the freshman school record for the event, ran a time of 45.62 seconds to earn 10 points for the Trojans.

Junior sprinter Edward Nketia continued the Trojan dominance in sprinting events, placing second in the 60-meter final — just one hundredth of a second behind Iowa’s Kalen Walker.

The men’s squad recorded another top-three finish in the men’s 4×400-meter final. Stadlman, sophomore sprinter Wiaan Martin and junior sprinters Nickolas Miller and Jacob Andrews propelled the team to a final time of 3:05.73 and a bronze medal.

In the long jump, freshman jumper Jackson Norris recorded a personal best of 7.49 meters, which earned him seventh place in the conference. Senior jumper Elias Gerald rounded out the Trojan scoring in the high jump with a season-best jump of 2.18 meters to earn him the silver medal.

The team’s second-place finish at last year’s conference championship relied on two or three individuals gaining points for the squad in each sprinting and jumping event. This year’s group, on the other hand, appears more top heavy, with impressive individual results but less overall depth.

Trojan athletes ranked in the top 16 of their respective events will continue their season on March 13 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, at the NCAA Indoor Championships.