Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Photo by: John McGillen
Getting To Know Alexander Barnum
April 06, 2018 | Track & Field, Features
In the young 2018 outdoor season sophomore sprinter Alexander Barnum has been building on his successful freshman campaign. Â Barnum has been a pleasant surprise for the Trojans, quickly working his way from an unheralded walk-on to an integral part of a team now ranked No. 5 nationally. In 2017, he helped USC's 4x100m relay team to a 10th place finish at the NCAAs, while also finishing sixth individually in the 100m at the Pac-12 Championships. In 2018, he has already helped set the fourth-fastest time in school history for the 4x100m relay at the USC Power 5 Championship with a time of 38.88 seconds. He hopes to do all he can to help the Trojans to an outdoor national championship this season.
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Q: What went into your decision to choose to attend USC?
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AB: Both my parents went here. My dad played football here and growing up 30 minutes away, it's always been a place I wanted to go. When I was a kid I used to go to football games all the time. My parents had season tickets, so USC has definitely been a part of my life since the day I was born. I think the first football game I went to I was when I was three months old, so it's always been in our family and it's just always been a dream of mine to come here. So when I was accepted here, there was no other option but to come here.
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Q: Recently, you helped set the 4th-fastest time in school history in the 4x100m relay. Did your approach change leading up to the meet or have you just been consistently building up to a performance of that quality?
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AB: The 4x100m is always tricky. I think for that race in particular our big focus was just getting the stick around. We know if we get the stick around, you put a time down just to see where we are, and the fact that it's fourth all-time on the school record list is pretty big. It's pretty big considering that we're not going all out. We had a couple of guys taking it a little bit easy and we didn't have our A-team out there, so it felt good to put that time down there, and at this point it's just about building off of it and just trying to stay consistent with the handoffs.
Â
Q: How have your coaches and trainers at USC helped you prepare and improve as an athlete?
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AB: They've been huge. They've been a huge help. Dunford (Rodill) is a great athletic trainer. I consider him the MVP of the team almost every year because he keeps us healthy and keeps us going. If we do happen to get injured, he does a great job of helping us with rehab and getting us back and healthy, and keeping us on top of our bodies and making sure we're doing all the right stuff. And then the coaches are our motivation. They're out there to push us every day, making us better, driving us to go for our best and shoot for the impossible. Coming in as a walk-on, coach Watts (Quincy) and coach Caryl (Smith Gilbert) told me to go out there and fight as if I was a scholarship guy. You know, go out there with nothing to lose give it your all. So they're huge, and at the end of the day, being able to run for them and run for this school is huge, and I couldn't ask for anything more.
Â
Q: When you were accepted to USC, did you know it was your intention to join the track team as a walk-on?
Â
AB: Yeah. It was definitely my intention to come out and walk on to the track team. I didn't have any expectations to run that year. I just went out there and knew I was going to compete hard and do my best, and to have the year that I did was just a huge bonus. Going forward now, knowing that I can compete at that level, I want to do a little bit more.
Â
Q: Did you play any other sports while you were in high school?
Â
AB: I played football and I ran track. Actually, in high school football was my main sport. That's initially what I wanted to do. It wasn't until my senior year that I really got into track and realized it was something I could be good at. Football had been a big sport in my family. Like I said, my dad played it here, and then my two uncles played it in high school, and my cousin played it in San Diego. That was a big part of who I was in high school, but now that I'm doing track, I love it even more than I loved football back then.
Â
Q: In 2017 you finished sixth in the 100m of the Pac-12 Championships. What was it like to go from having to prove yourself as a walk-on to actually going out and proving yourself with such a strong performance?
Â
AB: It was just validation that all the hard work was paying off. You know, going out there, practicing every day, and getting beat by guys pushed me. Once I got here, there was no doubt in my mind that I could go out and produce points for the team. I credit my teammates for kicking my butt everyday in practice, and helping me get to that point.
Â
Q: What are your personal goals going forward both on the track and off the track?
Â
AB: My personal goal this year is to score at nationals in an individual event. I got close at indoors. I finished 12th in the 60m, and so that was a bittersweet moment. I'd never been there before, so that was a bonus, just being able to be there and experience that atmosphere and feel what it was like. But at the same time, there was some bitterness to it, because I felt like I let my team down a little bit. We only lost the national championship by three points and any points I could have contributed would have been huge and potentially could have helped us win. But this year, I'm going into the outdoor season with a clean slate, trying to score in an individual event and contribute where I can in any of the relays. I want to do all that I can to try to help the team win this year. Ultimately, once I'm done with my four years at USC I just want to be happy with how I do at a personal level. If I never PR from here on out, but continue to help the team and score points I'll be completely fine with that. It's part of the football in me. I like the team aspect of track. It can kind of get overlooked, but being able to win and celebrate with other people is something that I really enjoy and look forward to, especially going into this season. One of my personal goals outside of track would just be to develop good relationships with people here at SC. It's a big global brand, and being able to have that on your résumé for jobs is huge. Ultimately, I want to work in the PR department for a sports organization, whether that be something local around here like the Lakers or the Rams, or even USC in the athletic department. Working in PR and helping players deal with and navigate the media would be great.
Â
Â
Q: What went into your decision to choose to attend USC?
Â
AB: Both my parents went here. My dad played football here and growing up 30 minutes away, it's always been a place I wanted to go. When I was a kid I used to go to football games all the time. My parents had season tickets, so USC has definitely been a part of my life since the day I was born. I think the first football game I went to I was when I was three months old, so it's always been in our family and it's just always been a dream of mine to come here. So when I was accepted here, there was no other option but to come here.
Â
Q: Recently, you helped set the 4th-fastest time in school history in the 4x100m relay. Did your approach change leading up to the meet or have you just been consistently building up to a performance of that quality?
Â
AB: The 4x100m is always tricky. I think for that race in particular our big focus was just getting the stick around. We know if we get the stick around, you put a time down just to see where we are, and the fact that it's fourth all-time on the school record list is pretty big. It's pretty big considering that we're not going all out. We had a couple of guys taking it a little bit easy and we didn't have our A-team out there, so it felt good to put that time down there, and at this point it's just about building off of it and just trying to stay consistent with the handoffs.
Â
Q: How have your coaches and trainers at USC helped you prepare and improve as an athlete?
Â
AB: They've been huge. They've been a huge help. Dunford (Rodill) is a great athletic trainer. I consider him the MVP of the team almost every year because he keeps us healthy and keeps us going. If we do happen to get injured, he does a great job of helping us with rehab and getting us back and healthy, and keeping us on top of our bodies and making sure we're doing all the right stuff. And then the coaches are our motivation. They're out there to push us every day, making us better, driving us to go for our best and shoot for the impossible. Coming in as a walk-on, coach Watts (Quincy) and coach Caryl (Smith Gilbert) told me to go out there and fight as if I was a scholarship guy. You know, go out there with nothing to lose give it your all. So they're huge, and at the end of the day, being able to run for them and run for this school is huge, and I couldn't ask for anything more.
Â
Q: When you were accepted to USC, did you know it was your intention to join the track team as a walk-on?
Â
AB: Yeah. It was definitely my intention to come out and walk on to the track team. I didn't have any expectations to run that year. I just went out there and knew I was going to compete hard and do my best, and to have the year that I did was just a huge bonus. Going forward now, knowing that I can compete at that level, I want to do a little bit more.
Â
Q: Did you play any other sports while you were in high school?
Â
AB: I played football and I ran track. Actually, in high school football was my main sport. That's initially what I wanted to do. It wasn't until my senior year that I really got into track and realized it was something I could be good at. Football had been a big sport in my family. Like I said, my dad played it here, and then my two uncles played it in high school, and my cousin played it in San Diego. That was a big part of who I was in high school, but now that I'm doing track, I love it even more than I loved football back then.
Â
Q: In 2017 you finished sixth in the 100m of the Pac-12 Championships. What was it like to go from having to prove yourself as a walk-on to actually going out and proving yourself with such a strong performance?
Â
AB: It was just validation that all the hard work was paying off. You know, going out there, practicing every day, and getting beat by guys pushed me. Once I got here, there was no doubt in my mind that I could go out and produce points for the team. I credit my teammates for kicking my butt everyday in practice, and helping me get to that point.
Â
Q: What are your personal goals going forward both on the track and off the track?
Â
AB: My personal goal this year is to score at nationals in an individual event. I got close at indoors. I finished 12th in the 60m, and so that was a bittersweet moment. I'd never been there before, so that was a bonus, just being able to be there and experience that atmosphere and feel what it was like. But at the same time, there was some bitterness to it, because I felt like I let my team down a little bit. We only lost the national championship by three points and any points I could have contributed would have been huge and potentially could have helped us win. But this year, I'm going into the outdoor season with a clean slate, trying to score in an individual event and contribute where I can in any of the relays. I want to do all that I can to try to help the team win this year. Ultimately, once I'm done with my four years at USC I just want to be happy with how I do at a personal level. If I never PR from here on out, but continue to help the team and score points I'll be completely fine with that. It's part of the football in me. I like the team aspect of track. It can kind of get overlooked, but being able to win and celebrate with other people is something that I really enjoy and look forward to, especially going into this season. One of my personal goals outside of track would just be to develop good relationships with people here at SC. It's a big global brand, and being able to have that on your résumé for jobs is huge. Ultimately, I want to work in the PR department for a sports organization, whether that be something local around here like the Lakers or the Rams, or even USC in the athletic department. Working in PR and helping players deal with and navigate the media would be great.
Â
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