USC track & field's rising sophomores took on the Western Hemisphere last weekend at the 2015 Pan Am Junior Championships and came away victorious with five gold and two bronze medals. The three-day meet in Edmonton, Canada for athletes 19 and under, showcased the promising future of the Trojans' talented track & field program on the world stage.On Friday, Dior Hall clinched USC's first medal, winning the women's 100m HH title in 13.20. Hall is coming off a monster first season at USC in which she set the school's freshman and world junior record of 12.74 in the 100m HH to earn third place at the NCAA Championships in June after claiming the Pac-12 title in the event in May. Fellow sprinter Deanna Hill secured gold in the women's 200m, winning the race in 23.18 (+1.7).
Kendall Ellis (pictured) earned the 400m bronze medal, finishing with a time of 52.81 in a close race in which the three medalists were only separated by .26 seconds. Ellis set the USC freshman record in the event this spring, finishing in 52.32 to clinch the USA Junior title on June 27.
On the third day of competition, rising sophomore Randall Cunningham took home the gold medal in the men's high jump with a clearance of 7-1.00 (2.16m) which he secured in his first attempt. Hill and Ellis earned gold as members of the 4x100m and 4x400m women's relays, respectively. And Robert Ford took third in the men's 800m race with a time of 1:48.90 to round out the weekend of competition.
