Written by Sarah Bergstrom, USC blog contributor
This weekend's Pac-12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships will feature some of the best collegiate athletes in the country. The entries include Olympians, national record holders, and even Heisman contending football players all competing for conference titles on their way to the NCAA Championships in June. While USC boasts many title contenders led by Bryshon Nellum, Aaron Brown, Reggie Wyatt, Alitta Boyd and Jenny Ozorai, here's a look at some of the other top athletes competing this weekend that are sure to make it a world class spectacle.
1. English Gardner
School/Year: Oregon, Junior
Event: 100, 200
Look For: The blur that is Gardner in the 100. As a member of the four-peat Pac-12 Champion Oregon women's track team, the junior is the sprinter to beat this weekend. Gardner is the reigning two-time Pac-12 Champion in the 100, and also won the 200m and 4x400m relay in 2012. She is a 3-time NCAA Champion in the 100m, 4x400, and indoor 60m. The junior ran the fastest time in the world this season at the Mt. SAC invitational in April running 11.00 and tying her wind-aided PR from last year's Pac-12 Championships. Her 11.00 mark is the second-fastest in Pac-12 history. A four-time All-American, Gardner did not lose a single collegiate final at any distance during the 2012 season. She is also deadly in the 200m, which she won at the Pac-12 Championships last season with a personal record 22.82.
2. Brigetta Barrett (pictured)
3. Jordan Hasay
School/Year: Arizona, Senior
Event: High Jump
Look For: The London 2012 Olympic silver medalist to repeat as Pac-12 Champion in the high jump. The senior jumped 6-8 in the finals this summer, a personal record and the best jump ever by a collegian in the women's high jump. Barrett was the first U.S. female to medal in the high jump since 1988. The Wildcat is the reigning two-time Indoor and Outdoor Champion in her event. This season she holds the top mark in the world after clearing 6-4.25 at the Stanford Invitational last month. She also holds the Pac-12 record in the event with a mark of 6-7.
3. Jordan Hasay
School/Year: Oregon, Senior
Event: 1500, 10,000
Look For: Hasay to finish her senior season in dominating style. The senior is wrapping up one of the most storied careers of any track athlete at the Universty of Oregon, which is saying something for a school that's referred to as Track Town USA. Hasay is a two-time NCAA Champion (indoor), winner of four Pac-12 titles, and the 2012 Pac-12 Athlete of the Year (cross country). The 17-time All-American is also a back-to-back Pac-12 1500 Champion and won the event last season in 4:13.28. Her PR in the 1500 is 4:10.28 and she is looking to defend her titles this weekend. She has also shifted some of her focus to running the 10,000, in which she has shattered both the standing Pac-12 and University of Oregon records. Earlier this year, she ran the 10K in 32:06.64, the fourth fastest time in NCAA history.
4. Elijah Greer
5. Georganne Moline
School/Year: Oregon, Senior
Event: 800
Look For: A sweep. Greer is the defending Pac-12 Champion in the 800, running it in 1:48.48 last season. The five-time All-American is third on Oregon's all-time list in the event. He's already run the fastest time in the country this year, running 1:46.20 at the Oregon-Arkansas Dual Meet in April. The next fastest runners in the event this weekend are Greer's teammates, Boru Guyota and Mac Fleet, making the 800m a major point scoring event for the Ducks who are looking to repeat as both Men's and Women's Pac-12 Champions for the 5th consecutive season. The Oregon men have won the Pac-12 Championship six years in a row.
School/Year: Arizona, Senior
Event: 400 hurdles
Look For: Speed. Returning as the Pac-12 Champion in the 400 hurdles, Moline is looking to end her senior season in memorable fashion. She was injured in her first three seasons at Arizona and after winning the conference last year, looked to be a favorite at NCAAs where she ended up falling in the finals. Moline is another US Olympian who finished fifth in the 400 hurdles final in London as the youngest athlete in the field. Her PR, 53.92, is third in Pac-12 history and her fastest time this season, 54.98, is the second fastest in the world. She is also a member of the 4x400 team which won the Pac-12 Title last year.
6. Stephan Scott-Ellis
School/Year: Washington State, Senior
Event: Long Jump, Triple Jump
Look For: A two-title champion. Stephan Scott-Ellis is the defending Pac-12 Champion in the long jump and the 2011 Champion in the triple jump. The 6-foot-7 senior jumped 25-9.25 last season to take home the Pac-12 Title and was runner-up in the triple jump (52-7.75). Scott-Ellis will go head-to-head with ASU's Chris Bernard, the 2012 Pac-12 triple jump champion, in both events.
7. Jordan Clarke
School/Year: Arizona State, Senior
Event: Shot Put
Look For: The first three-time champion in the shot put since 1995. If Clarke wins at the NCAA Championships in June, that is. Clarke is also looking to defend his Pac-12 title. The senior won last year throwing 65-1.75 and his outdoor personal record of 66-11.25 is third on ASU's all-time throwing list. His all-time personal record, 68-5.25 is ninth all-time in the Pac-12. He currently holds the best mark in the Pac-12 this season by a large margin.
8. Julian Wruke
School/Year: UCLA, Junior
Event: Discus
Look (Listen) For: An accent. An Australian native, Wruke is the clear favorite in the discus, holding both the Pac-12 and world leading mark this season. His best collegiate throw is nine feet better than the next best NCAA mark this year. He was the 2011 NCAA discus champion and competed in the London Olympics last summer for Australia. He towers over the competition at 6-foot-6, weighing in at 310 pounds. He holds UCLA's school record in the discus and has set 2013 world records in three straight competitions this season. In April, he threw 66.32m and will look to improve on that mark this weekend. As a transfer from Texas Tech, Wruke has never competed in the Pac-12 Championships.
