Fresh off a dominant performance at the Allice Trojan Invitational, in which the men and women won 18 combined events, the Trojan track team split up between two meets this week: the Battle on the Bayou in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, California.

The sprinting and jumping squads traveled to Louisiana, recording eight top-three finishes and posting top-in-the-nation times. The distance and throwing groups added three event wins and numerous personal bests at the Triton Invitational.

“I just like how our team competed, both on the men’s and women’s sides,” said Quincy Watts, the director of the track and field program, about the team’s performance at the Battle on the Bayou. “They were excited to compete out of state … against a lot of teams in the SEC. It was an excellent trip for us.”

Awoleye breaks USC record in 800-meter debut

In her outdoor 800-meter debut, freshman distance runner Oluwatosin Awoleye recorded one of the most impressive performances of either meet, running 2:02.21 and placing second overall in Baton Rouge. With that time, Awoleye broke the freshman 800-meter record — which had stood since 1998 — by nearly two seconds.

Awoleye’s performance marked the third-fastest time ever run by a woman competing for USC in the event and the ninth-best time recorded in the NCAA this season.

“We have to really be excited about her young career being started here in her second outdoor meet and her first 800 outdoors,” Watts said.

Awoleye wasn’t the only Trojan who ran a top-10 time this season at the Battle on the Bayou. Her teammates Brianna Selby, a sophomore sprinter, and Madison Whyte, a junior sprinter, also recorded the same feat.

In the 100 meters, Selby ran 11.13 seconds to earn a silver medal. That performance put her eighth in the NCAA this season. Sophomore sprinter Mia Brahe-Pedersen finished closely behind, running 11.17 seconds and finishing in third place.

Whyte doubled in the 200 meters and 400 meters, securing second-place finishes in both. Her time of 50.06 in the 400 meters ranks second in program history and second out of all NCAA athletes this season.

In the 200 meters, Whyte’s time of 22.73 seconds put her just ahead of her teammate Christine Mallard, a senior sprinter, who finished in third with a time of 22.78 seconds. Whyte again recorded a top-five time in the nation, securing a third-place spot on the NCAA leaderboard, while Mallard’s performance earned her the sixth-best time on the same leaderboard.

At the Triton Invitational, the women recorded two event wins in the shot put and discus. Sophomore thrower Ashley Erasmus won the shot put with a throw of 17.96 meters.

Junior thrower Reese Garland added another title with a throw of 56.63 meters in the discus.

Nketia records top-5 time in the country

Junior sprinter Edward Nketia led the men’s squad at the Battle on the Bayou with an impressive 10.09 in the 100 meters. That time earned him a silver medal and marked the fourth-fastest time in the NCAA this season.

Junior hurdler Yougendy Mauricette was the only other Trojan man to finish in the top five of his respective event at that meet, running a time of 49.97 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles. The personal-best performance earned Mauricette a silver medal and moved him to seventh on the NCAA leaderboard for that event this season.

At the Triton Invitational, the throwers recorded four top-five finishes in the discus and hammer throw. Junior thrower Racquil Broderick, who threw the best mark in the nation at the Trojan Invitational last weekend, finished in third place in the discus with a throw of 62.57 meters.

His teammate, Vincent Ugwoke, a graduate thrower, finished close behind in fifth place, with a mark of 62.02 meters. Ugwoke’s throw was the ninth-best mark recorded in the NCAA this season, showing the quality of competition in the meet’s discus event.

In the hammer throw, freshman thrower Mico Lampinen won the gold medal, throwing 67.44 meters. Senior thrower Matteo Mitchell rounded out the top five in the same event, with a 63.69 meter mark good enough for fifth place.

Watts said that, because this year’s team is especially young, he’s been focusing on individual effort and execution every week.

“We want to focus on the best version of ourselves. The only thing that matters is your very best,” Watts said. “That will allow us to grow as the season moves on, and we’re going to be in a great space for championship time.”

The Trojans will return to the track on April 16 at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, California.