Wednesday, May 09, 2012

USC Set For First Pac-12 T&F Championships

Trojans head to Eugene, Ore., home of the 2012 Olympic Trials

May 8, 2012

The No. 7 ranked USC men's and No. 16 ranked Trojan women's track and field team will be competing at the inaugural Pac-12 Track & Field Championships hosted by Oregon on May 12-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. This is also the site for the U.S. Olympic T&F Trials which will be held June 21-July 1. FOX Sports Net will air a two-hour tape delayed show with air times announced at a later date. Paul Sunderland will call the action with color commentary by Joanna Hayes and Tom Feuer. Drea Avent will provide additional commentary from the infield.

USC AT THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP - The USC men's team has won 10 Pac-10 team titles and finished tied for third last season with 99 points. USC's women's team has captured one team title (1996) and last season placed fourth with 103 points. In the last 15 seasons the Trojan men have claimed four Pac-10 titles, the last coming in 2006. They have scored 99 or more points in 13 of the last 15 seasons. The USC women have finished no lower than fourth since winning the title in 1996 and in 21 of the 25 seasons of women's competition. The Women of Troy have scored 99 or more points in 14 of the last 16 meets.

RETURNING PAC-10 SCORERS - USC has eight men and nine women on this year's team which scored at the 2010 Pac-10 Championships. On the men's side they are: Terence Abram (6th-4x100m), Viktor Fajoyomi (7th-TJ), Joey Hughes (2nd-200m, 2nd-400m, 6th-4x100m, 1st-4x400m), Josh Mance (4th-400m, 1st-4x400m), Bryshon Nellum (3rd-400m, 1st-4x400m), Blake Shaw (5th-1500m), Cooper Thompson (1st-javelin) and Reggie Wyatt (3rd-400m IH, 1st-4x400m). On the women's side they are: Lauren Blackburn (2nd-100m HH), Alitta Boyd (4th-TJ, 5th-LJ), Jessica Davis (2nd-100m, 1st-200m, 1st-4x100m, 6th-4x400m), Loudia Laarman (1st-4x100m), Marissa Minderler (8th-shot put, 1st-hammer, 6th-javelin), Dalilah Muhammad (2nd-400m IH, 6th-4x400m), Jenny Ozorai (8th-discus, 3rd-hammer), Aareon Payne (6th-100m, 4th-200m, 1st-4x100m, 6th-4x400m) and Jenna Puterbaugh (1st-4x100m, 6th-4x400m).

TOP 25 TROJANS - Currently 18 Trojans rank among the NCAA top 25 in an event. USC men ranking in the top 25 are: Aaron Brown (T-4th-100m, 12th-200m), Devonte Stewart (19th-200m), Josh Mance (T7th-400m, 1st-4x400m), Joey Hughes (16th-400m, 1st-4x400m), Bryshon Nellum (3rd-400m, 1st-4x400m), Reggie Wyatt (3rd-400m IH, 1st-4x400m), 4x400m (1st), Daniel Szabo (5th-Hammer), Cooper Thompson (18th-Javelin). Trojan women ranking in the top 25 are: Aareon Payne (T-15th-200m, 14th-4x100m), Jessica Davis (14th-4x100m), Loudia Laarman (14th-4x100m), Akawkaw Ndipagbor (14th-4x100m), Dalilah Muhammad (6th-400m IH), Alexandra Collatz (18th-Discus), Jenny Ozorai (3rd-Hammer), Marissa Minderler (7th-Hammer), Jade Niemeyer (17th-Hammer) and Kristine Busa (17th-Javelin).

BROWN NOW AMONG NCAA's ELITE SPRINTERS - Sophomore Aaron Brown won the 100m dash at the Trojan Invitational on March 24 with a PR of 10.25, just .02 seconds outside of USC's all-time top 10. He then won the Invitational 100m dash at the Texas Relays with a wind-aided time of 10.09 (+3.1) on March 31 which currently ranks as tied for the fourth-fastest time in the country. Brown had a strong first season at USC, despite battling through a nagging hamstring injury. He won his 100m semifinals heat at the Pac-10 Championships, but reaggravated a hamstring injury suffered on May 1. He tried to run in the 200m semifinals, but had to pull out of the rest of the championships. He recovered enough to compete at the NCAA Preliminary Rounds and advanced to the NCAA semifinals in the 100m dash with a time of 10.42. He ran 10.55 in the semifinals to finish 20th at the NCAAs. Brown won the 100m (10.33) and the 200m (20.53w) at the USC-UCLA Dual Meet on April 29.

MEN'S RELAY TEAM EYES 3-MINUTE MARK - A definite strength of the USC men's team is its quarter-milers who form quite a formidable 4x400m relay team. Five different runners (Joey Hughes, Bryshon Nellum, Josh Mance, Reggie Wyatt and Duane Walker) have teamed up to post parts of 3 of the top 10 1600m relay times in USC history. Nellum, Hughes, Wyatt and Mance posted a time of 3:02.24 on March 24, the second fastest 4x400m relay in USC history, the NCAA leading time and a new Loker Stadium record. They now trail only the NCAA champion team of Travis Hannah, Curtis Conway, Martin Cannady and Quincy Watts which set the school record with a time of 3:00.58 on June 6, 1992 in Austin, Texas.

NELLUM PROVING HE IS BACK - Redshirt senior Bryshon Nellum posted the top collegiate time in the 400m dash this season when he ran a 45.18 in the Invite Elite race at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 21, finishing behind only former Olympic finalists Martyn Rooney (44.92) and Jeremy Wariner (44.96). Nellum's time was a PR and the ninth-fastest 400m dash ever by a Trojan. This past weekend he was passed by two runners and currently ranks third in the county. Nellum has been showing signs all season that he might finally be all the way back from the injuries which have held him back ever since he won the 2007 National Track Athlete of the Year Award while at Long Beach Poly. For the first time since Nellum arrived at USC he is running pain free. In his first collegiate race on March 1, 2008 he pulled a hamstring causing him to miss the rest of that season. He then suffered a gunshot injury to his legs in the Fall of 2008 which wiped away the entire 2009 campaign. He was able to return for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, but continued to run with pain as bullet fragments were touching nerves in his leg. Each of those seasons ended with surgery to try and remove the fragments. Still, Nellum was able to show his pedigree by placing third in the 400m at the 2010 Pac-10 Championships and running a season-best time of 45.94 in the 400m which was the 15th-fastest regular season time in the country. Both the 2010 and 2011 seasons came to an end at the NCAA Preliminary Rounds when he was forced to shut it down due to pain in his leg. In 2011 before the injury, he again was able to place third in the 400m dash at the Pac-10 Championships with a collegiate best time of 45.56. Also this season, Nellum has run a 20.76 to win the 200m dash at the Tiny Lister Invitational on April 7 and ran the leadoff leg for the 4x400m relay team which posted the second-fastest time in school history of 3:02.24 at the Trojan Invitational on March 24. Nellum's PR in the 200m dash is still the 20.43 he ran as a high school senior.


2012 Roster
Last Name
NAME Height
HT EVENT(S) eligibility
Year Hometown
abram terence
Abram, Terence 71
5-11 Sprints 5
JR Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
adamski francesca
Adamski, Francesca 64
5-4 Distances 3
SO Troy, Mich.
adkins aaron
Adkins, Aaron 74
6-2 800m 4
RS SO Las Vegas, Nev.
andrews myles
Andrews, Myles 71
5-11 800 1
FR Cypress, Calif.
bailey candace
Bailey, Candace 68
5-8 Jumps, Heptathlon 6
RS JR Houston, Texas
barkley samuel
Barkley, Samuel 73
6-1 Hurdles 1
FR Newport Beach, Calif.
baumann tamara
Baumann, Tamara 67
5-7 Hammer 8
RS SR Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.
benjamin farren
Benjamin, Farren 65
5-5 Hammer 6
RS JR Rossmoor, Calif.
blackburn lauren
Blackburn, Lauren 68
5-8 Hurdles 3
SO Dallas, Texas
blanchard tara
Blanchard, Tara 68
5-8 Distances 2
RS FR Agoura, Calif.
boehnlein colin
Boehnlein, Colin 69
5-9 Long Jump 3
SO Portland, Ore.
bogie douglas
Bogie, Douglas 74
6-2 Jumps 3
SO Malibu, Calif.
boyd alitta
Boyd, Alitta 70
5-10 Jumps 5
JR Union City, Calif.
brown aaron
Brown, Aaron 73
6-1 Sprints, 4x100m 3
SO Toronto, Ontario, Canada
brown alexis
Brown, Alexis 64
5-4 400m 5
JR Pomona, Calif.
bruce charity
Bruce, Charity 65
5-5 Sprints 2
RS FR Baton Rouge, La.
buckley shelby
Buckley, Shelby 64
5-4 Distances 6
RS JR Newport Coast, Calif.
burger anna
Burger, Anna 65
5-5 800m 3
SO Boulder, Colo.
burnett tony
Burnett, Tony 73
6-1 Jumps 7
SR Watts, Calif.
busa kristine
Busa, Kristine 70
5-10 Javelin 8
RS SR Riga, Latvia
byrne shannon
Byrne, Shannon 65
5-5 1500 1
FR Newbury Park, CA
capellino erica
Capellino, Erica 65
5-5 1500 / Mid-Distances 1
FR Palos Verdes, CA
chambers lauren
Chambers, Lauren 65
5-5 Throws 4
RS SO Acworth, Ga.
chang katherine
Chang, Katherine 65
5-5 Jumps 7
SR Short Hills, N.J.
cherry steven
Cherry, Steven 69
5-9 Pole Vault 1
FR Clayton, Del.
churchman jeffrey
Churchman, Jeffrey 76
6-4 Javelin 4
RS SO Santa Barbara, Calif.
collatz alexandra
Collatz, Alexandra 67
5-7 Discus 1
FR Bakersfield, CA
collins crispin
Collins, Crispin 67
5-7 400m, 800m 7
SR Santa Ana, Calif.
cox melia
Cox, Melia 66
5-6 Hurdles and Jumps 1
FR Long Beach, CA
davis jessica
Davis, Jessica 70
5-10 Sprints 3
SO Palmdale, Calif.
deyoung katie
DeYoung, Katie 65
5-5 Distances 2
RS FR Dana Point, Calif.
deyoung scott
DeYoung, Scott 73
6-1 400m 7
SR Dana Point, Calif.
dion jackie
Dion, Jackie 69
5-9 400m 3
SO Newport Beach, Calif.
erdelyi zsofia
Erdelyi, Zsofia 63
5-3 Distances 8
RS SR Godollo, Hungary
fajoyomi viktor
Fajoyomi, Viktor 73
6-1 High Jump 3
SO Budapest, Hungary
falgout beau
Falgout, Beau 78
6-6 Hammer 4
RS SO Dallas, Texas
gaeta leah
Gaeta, Leah 68
5-8 Distances 7
SR Palo Alto, Calif.
granowski tessa
Granowski, Tessa 67
5-7 400m 1
FR Dallas, Texas
harris aleec
Harris, Aleec 72
6-0 Hurdles 5
JR Atlanta, Georgia
hendin aron
Hendin, Aron 60
5-0 Pole Vault 1
FR Chesterfield, Mo.
henry kiana
Henry, Kiana 0 Heptathlon 1
FR Anaheim Hills
hoffer stephanie
Hoffer, Stephanie 68
5-8 Hammer 4
RS SO San Gabriel, Calif.
hughes joey
Hughes, Joey 70
5-10 200m, 400m 7
SR Long Beach, Calif.
jones jennifer
Jones, Jennifer 65
5-5 Jumps/Sprints 5
JR Rialto, Calif.
jones vanessa
Jones, Vanessa 67
5-7 400m and Relays 1
FR Fontana, CA
kanchan karan
Kanchan, Karan 68
5-8 400m 4
RS SO Bombay, India
karkut kathryn
Karkut, Kathryn 68
5-8 Jumps/Hurdles 7
SR Huntington Beach, Calif.
kessler tim
Kessler, Tim 68
5-8 800m 6
RS JR Portland, Ore.
laarman loudia
Laarman, Loudia 64
5-4 Sprints 3
SO Lethbridge, Alberta, CN
laetsch joseph
Laetsch, Joseph 71
5-11 400m 5
JR Palos Verdes, Calif.
lawson khoren
Lawson, Khoren 71
5-11 Sprints 1
FR Manchester, Jamaica
leckie james
Leckie, James 74
6-2 800m/1500m 7
SR Whitehouse Station, N.J.
lee marqise
Lee, Marqise 72
6-0 Jumps, Sprints 1
FR Inglewood, Calif.
linkletter brett
Linkletter, Brett 70
5-10 Jumps 3
SO Laguna Beach, Calif.
louis anniya
Louis, Anniya 64
5-4 800m/Distances 7
SR Culver City, Calif.
lundin austin
Lundin, Austin 68
5-8 Distances 1
FR Hillsboro, Ore.
lundin jessica
Lundin, Jessica 65
5-5 Distances 7
SR Hillsboro, Ore.
lutzky caroline
Lutzky, Caroline 67
5-7 400m 5
JR Miami Beach, Fla.
malik malea
Malik, Malea 65
5-5 Sprints 2
RS FR Ontario, CA
mance josh
Mance, Josh 75
6-3 400m, 200m, Relays 3
SO Pomona, Calif.
markowitz abe
Markowitz, Abe 74
6-2 Throws 6
RS JR Hawaii Kai, Hawaii
martinez tony
Martinez, Tony 72
6-0 Distances 6
RS JR Wildomar, Calif.
matranga erin
Matranga, Erin 66
5-6 Distances 1
FR Sacramento, Calif.
mccormick matthew
McCormick, Matthew 71
5-11 Pole Vault 7
SR San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
mcdonald ross
McDonald, Ross 72
6-0 Pole Vault/Long Jump 3
SO Newton, Mass.
mercado bryan
Mercado, Bryan 66
5-6 100m, 200m 1
FR Pomona, Calif.
minderler marissa
Minderler, Marissa 70
5-10 Throws 8
RS SR Santa Clara, Calif.
morgan d.j.
Morgan, D.J. 70
5-10 Sprints/Hurdles 2
RS FR Van Nuys, Calif.
muhammad dalilah
Muhammad, Dalilah 67
5-7 Hurdles, Sprints 7
SR Bayside, N.Y.
ndipagbor akawkaw
Ndipagbor, Akawkaw 68
5-8 Sprints 1
FR Corona, CA
nellum bryshon
Nellum, Bryshon 0 Sprints 8
RS SR Los Angeles, Calif.
niemeyer jade
Niemeyer, Jade 70
5-10 Throws 8
RS SR Hansville, Wash.
ojo samantha
Ojo, Samantha 71
5-11 400m 1
FR Los Angeles, Calif.
olonade oluwakemi
Olonade, Oluwakemi 66
5-6 Jumps 1
FR London, England
owen kelly
Owen, Kelly 70
5-10 Distances 5
JR Palos Verdes, Calif.
ozorai jenny
Ozorai, Jenny 63
5-3 Throws 3
SO Szombathely, Hungary
payne aareon
Payne, Aareon 66
5-6 Sprints 7
SR Cleveland Heights, Ohio
porterfield jay
Porterfield, Jay 66
5-6 Sprints 5
JR Stone Mountain, Ga.
puterbaugh jenna
Puterbaugh, Jenna 64
5-4 Sprints 3
SO Encinitas, Calif.
pyka ashley
Pyka, Ashley 67
5-7 Throws 6
RS JR Anaheim, Calif.
pysell holly
Pysell, Holly 74
6-2 Javelin 3
SO Gilbert, Ariz.
rafiee adrian
Rafiee, Adrian 70
5-10 Steeplechase/5000m 4
RS SO San Diego, Calif.
remick spencer
Remick, Spencer 73
6-1 800m 5
JR Inverness, Ill.
robey nickell
Robey, Nickell 68
5-8 Jumps 3
SO Frostproof, Fla.
robinson erin
Robinson, Erin 67
5-7 Distances 1
FR Los Altos Hills, CA
ruiz tyler
Ruiz, Tyler 74
6-2 Jumps 5
JR Valley Village, Calif.
schwindt kevin
Schwindt, Kevin 70
5-10 Pole Vault 3
SO Colorado Springs, Colo.
selma david
Selma, David 74
6-2 Jumps 4
RS SO Palmdale, Calif.
shaw blake
Shaw, Blake 75
6-3 800m, Distances 7
SR Houston, Texas
slater jovante
Slater, Jovante 69
5-9 Jumps, Sprints 1
FR Murrieta, Calif.
soderstrom kira
Soderstrom, Kira 0
starkey gregory
Starkey, Gregory 74
6-2 Hurdles 3
SO San Clemente, Calif.
stein eric
Stein, Eric 72
6-0 Throws 6
RS JR Lakewood, Calif.
stewart davonte
Stewart, Davonte 73
6-1 Sprints 1
FR Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
stutland jennifer
Stutland, Jennifer 70
5-10 High Jump 5
JR Lexington, Ky.
szabo daniel
Szabo, Daniel 0 Hammer Throw 1
FR Szombathely, Hungary
tennefoss josh
Tennefoss, Josh 73
6-1 Sprints 8
RS SR Portola Valley, Calif.
thomas ryan
Thomas, Ryan 71
5-11 800m/1500m 5
JR San Jose, Calif.
thompson cooper
Thompson, Cooper 72
6-0 Throws 7
SR Bakersfield, Calif.
walker duane
Walker, Duane 78
6-6 400m IH, Sprints 7
SR Compton, Calif.
walles jaclyn
Walles, Jaclyn 59
4-11 Distances 3
SO Westchester, Calif.
weiss thea
Weiss, Thea 61
5-1 Pole Vault 4
RS SO Apple Valley, Calif.
wilkins barry
Wilkins, Barry 69
5-9 800m 5
JR Indianapolis, Ind.
williams allen
Williams, Allen 68
5-8 110m HH, TJ 1
FR Oakland, Calif.
williams jemal
Williams, Jemal 72
6-0 Decathlon 1
FR Santa Rosa, Calif.
williams natalia
Williams, Natalia 64
5-4 400m 3
SO Sherman Oaks, Calif.
woodburn gregory
Woodburn, Gregory 75
6-3 Distances 6
RS JR Ventura, Calif.
wyatt reggie
Wyatt, Reggie 77
6-5 Hurdles/400m 5
JR Riverside, Calif.
zia jeffrey
Zia, Jeffrey 71
5-11 Pole Vault 1
FR Oak Park, Calif.
zuletta michael
Zuletta, Michael 69
5-9 400m 5
JR Montebello, Calif.


Coaches


Ron Allice - Director of Track and Field
John Henry Johnson - Men's Sprint Coach/Recruiting Coord.
Tina Fernandes - Women's Sprint Coach, Assistant Coach
Dan Lange - Throws Coach
Mike Pullins - Jumps Coach
Tom Walsh - Distances/Women's Cross Country Coach
Kate Carlson - Pole Vault Coach
Laszlo Tabori - Distance Coach
Tommie White - Hurdles Coach


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