USC HEADS TO NCAA T&F PRELIMS AT TEXAS - No. 1 Women & No. 5 Men Begin Quest For Titles - University of Southern California Sports Information Offi ce, Heritage Hall 103A, L.A., CA 90089-0601 • Phone: (213) 740-8480 • Fax: (213) 740-7584 USC Track & Field Schedule WEEKLY TRACK AND FIELD RELEASE - MAY 28, 2015 Date Meet - USC’s No. 1-ranked women’s and No. 5-ranked men’s track and fi eld 2/28 Rossi Relays THIS WEEK teams will compete at the 2015 West Preliminary Rounds hosted by Texas at Mike A. Myers 3/6-7 Cal State L.A. Invitational Stadium in Austin, Texas from May 28-30. There will be 48 athletes in each event, with the 3/13-14 Ben Brown Invitational top 12 after the Preliminary Rounds in each region moving on to the NCAA Championships 3/13-14 NCAA Indoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. from June 10-13. 3/20-21 Trojan Invitational* 4/3-4 Florida Relays USC’S MEN & WOMEN PLACE 2ND AT PAC-12s - Both the USC women’s and 4/3-4 California Collegiate Invite men’s team’s placed second at the 2015 Pac-12 Track & Field Championships hosted by 4/3-4 Stanford Invitational UCLA in Westwood, Calif. (May 16-17) as the Trojans won 13 event titles, more than any 4/11 Jim Click Shootout other school. The women’s team won seven event titles and scored 182 points, the most 4/16-18 Mt. SAC Relays ever for a second place team. The men’s team won six events and fi nished with 121 points, 4/18 Long Beach Invitational the most by a second-place team since the 2010 season. 4/24-25 Triton Invitational 5/2-3 USC-UCLA Dual Meet DE GRASSE NAMED MEN’S ATHLETE OF THE MEET AT PAC-12s - The junior 5/9-10 Pac-12 Multi-Events& De Grasse turned heads at the Pac-12 Championships by winning the 100m title in 9.97 5/16-17 Pac-12 Championships& seconds and winning the 200m title with a time of 20.05, after running 20.03 in the prelims. 5/28-30 NCAA Preliminary Rounds% He also ran a leg for USC’s winning 4x100m relay which clocked 39.17. For his efforts, De 6/10-13 NCAA Championships# Grasse was named the Pac-12 Men’s Track Athlete of the Meet. De Grasse’s 100m time of 9.97 broke the USC school record, the Pac-12 Meet record and set the UCLA Drake * Home &Westwood, Calif. Stadium record. His best 200m time of 20.03 is a Canadian record and ties him for second %Austin, Texas on USC’ all-time list. #Eugene, Ore. TROJANS WIN FOUR PAC-12 YEARLY HONORS - USC’s Director of Track & Field USC Quick Facts Caryl Smith Gilbert was named 2015 Pac-12 Men’s & Women’s Coach of the Year, Andre De Grasse was named the conference’s Men’s Track Athlete of the Year and Marquis Mor- Location: Los Angeles, Calif. ris was named the Pac-12 Men’s Freshman of the Year on May 20. Smith Gilbert became Enrollment: 40,000 (18,000) the fi rst woman ever to be named the Pac-12 Men’s Coach of the Year. USC won four of Nickname: Trojans the Pac-12’s eight yearly honors. Colors: Cardinal and Gold TRAVELING TROJANS - USC will have 36 athletes (16 men, 20 women) declared indi- Athletic Dir: Pat Haden vidually or as part of a relay team at the 2014 NCAA Preliminary Rounds. The men quali- Dir. of T&F: Caryl Smith Gilbert fying for the Preliminary Rounds are Myles Andrews (800m), Randall Cunningham (high (213) 740-4201 jump), Andre De Grasse (100m, 200m, 4x100m), Robert Ford (800m), Adoree’ Jackson Coaches: David Freeman (long jump), Michael Krone (high jump), BeeJay Lee (100m, 200m, 4x100m), Conor Mc- Dan Lange Cullough (hammer throw), Bryan Mercado (100m, 4x100m), D.J. Morgan (110m HH), Ricky Jamie Nieto Morgan (400m), Marquis Morris (110m HH), Nick Ponzio (shot put), Dominic Smallwood Loreal Smith (triple jump), Davonte Stewart (400m) and Just’N Thymes (200m, 4x100m). The women DeeDee Trotter qualifi ed are Destinee Brown (100m, 200m), Gabriella Cantrell (100m, 200m), Alexandra Quincy Watts Collatz (discus throw), Melia Cox (100m HH, triple jump), Kendall Ellis (400m, 4x400m), Ryan Wilson Alexis Faulknor (100m, LJ, 4x100m), Tynia Gaither (100m, 200m, 4x100m), Dior Hall Dir. of Ops: Mary Angell (100m HH), Deanna Hill (100m, 200m, 4x100m), Amalie Iuel (400m IH, 4x400m), Vanessa T&F SID: David Tuttle Jones (400m, 4x400m), Akawkaw Ncha-Ndip (400m, 4x400m), Tera Novy (discus throw), (213) 740-8480 Jenny Ozorai (hammer throw), Cameron Pettigrew (400m), Madisen Richards (long jump), Tanya Sapa (shot put), Kira Soderstrom (3000m SC), Jaide Stepter (400m IH, 4x400m) and USC’s History In Track & Field Ky Westbrook (100m, 200m, 4x100m). NCAA Titles: Men (26 outdoor) USC RANKING AMONG THE BEST -- There are currently 31 NCAA top 30 marks Men (2 indoor) posted by Trojan athletes this outdoor season: Men (10): Randall Cunningham (HJ - T- Women (1 outdoor) 4th), Andre De Grasse (100m - 1st, 200m - 2nd), Adoree’ Jackson (LJ - T-24th), BeeJay Last Title: Men (1976) Lee (100m - 5th, 200m - T-7th), Conor McCullough (HT - 1st), Nick Ponzio (Shot - 21st), Women (2001) Just’N Thymes (200m - T-14th) and the 4x100m relay (5th). Women (21): Alexandra NCAA Champs: Men (164) Collatz (Discus - 7th), Melia Cox (100m HH - T-26th), Alexis Faulknor (100m - T-9th, Women (32) 200m - 22nd, LJ - 10th), Tynia Gaither (100m - 15th, 200m - T-17th), Dior Hall (100m HH - Olympic Champs: Men (41) T-5th), Deanna Hill (200m - 11th), Amalie Iuel (400m IH - 4th, Heptathlon - 21st), Vanessa Women (5) Jones (400m - T-7th), Tera Novy (Discus - 3rd), Jenny Ozorai (Hammer - 30th), Jaide Stepter (400m IH - 3rd), Ky Westbrook (100m - 8th, 200m - 25th), the 4x100m relay (5th, PRONUNCIATIONS T-12th) and the 4x400m relay (10th, 16th). Andre De Grasse Da-GRAHS Katerina Berdousi Burr-DOO-see TOP 10 TROJANS - USC has eight spring semester teams ranked in the top 10 in the Alexandra Collatz COE-lotz Tynia Gaither tie-KNEE-uh Gayther country: Sand Volleyball (1, NCAA Champions), W-Golf (1), W-Tennis (1, T-3rd at NCAAs), Amalie Iuel AH-mah-lee Yule W-Track (2), W-Water Polo (4, 3rd at NCAA Championships), M-Track (6), M-Tennis (7, Emma Kao Gow Round of 16 at NCAAs), M-Volleyball (7). Reika Kijima RAKE-uh Kih-JEE-muh Akawkawa Ncha-Ndip Coco In-chah-In-dip UP NEXT - USC’s track and fi eld team will train in preparation for the NCAA Track & Field Jenny Ozorai OH-zor-eye Championships to be held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. from June 10-13. RANKINGS - USC’s women’s team was ranked No. 1 in the USTFCCCA poll on April 27, its fi rst time being ranked at the top in the eight years of the poll. They are currently ranked No. 1 and the men’s team No. 5. USC has both teams in the top 5 for the fi rst time since the 2008 season. 3/24 4/6 4/13 4/20 4/27 5/4 5/11 5/18 5/26 6/1 USC Men 7 5 5 5 4 4 5 6 5 USC Women 8 7 7 4 1 2 2 2 1 USC TRACK AND FIELD HISTORY - USC is well known as one of the most successful athletic programs in the history of the NCAA, with 122 men’s and women’s national championships. The Trojans have won far more NCAA team and individual titles combined than any other univer- sity. However, the most dominant force in USC’s slate of athletic programs is not the baseball team (12 College World Series titles) or the foot- ball squad (nine national championships) but the men’s track and fi eld program, with an unprecedented 28 NCAA titles (including nine straight, 1935-43). In fact, in the history of the NCAA, only the Oklahoma State wrestling program (31) has more national titles than USC men’s outdoor track and fi eld. Trojan athletes have dominated the track and fi eld scene for decades. From the exploits of sprinter Charlie Paddock and thrower Clarence “Bud” Houser in the 1920s and 1930s, sprinter Mel Patton in the 1940s, thrower Parry O’Brien in the 1950s,sprinter Lennox Miller and pole vaulter Bob Seagren in the 1960s, sprinter Quincy Watts in the 1980s, to four-time NCAA hammer champion Balazs Kiss (only the fi fth collegian to win four in a row) in the 1990s and World Champion hurdler Felix Sanchez in the 2000s, USC is synonymous with track and fi eld excellence. TROJAN PROGRAM IN GOOD HANDS WITH SMITH GILBERT - USC Director of Track & Field Caryl Smith Gilbert is in her sec- ond season at the helm of the Trojans’ track and fi eld program. Already she has guided the women’s team to the 2014 and 2015 MPSF indoor titles, their fi rst two seasons in the conference. The men’s team placed second at the MPSFs in 2015, their fi rst year competing in the conference. She guided both the men’s and women’s teams to a second place fi nishes in the her fi rst two Pac-12 Champion- ships and was named the 2015 Pac-12 Men’s & Women’s Coach of the Year, the fi rst woman to win the Men’s Coach of the Year honor. She has also been named the 2014 and 2015 MPSF Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year, the 2014 and 2015 USTFCCCA West Re- gion Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year and the 2014 USTFCCCA West Region Women’s Outdoor Coach of the Year.