University Southern California Trojans
USC To Compete At 4 Meets Around The Southland
April 13, 2016 | Track & Field
The No. 3-ranked USC women's team and the No. 14-ranked men's team will compete at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate in Long Beach, Calif. on April 14, the Mt. SAC Relays in Norwalk, Calif. on April 14-16, the Beach Invitational in Long Beach on April 15-16 and Tera Novy will throw at the CSULA Twilight Meet on April 14.
USC WINS 8 EVENTS AT PEPSI INVITATIONAL - USC won eight events highlighted by Nick Ponzio's wins in the men's discus throw (171-7) and shot put (62-1.25), Jaide Stepter's win in the women's 400m IH (meet-record time of 55.91) and Deanna Hill's win in the women's 200m dash (meter-record time of 22.71) at the Pepsi Invitational at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. on April 9. Also winning events were Margaux Jones (LJ - 20-6.50), Eric Sloan (LJ - 25-7.50), Randall Cunningham (HJ - 7-1.50) and Tera Novy (DT - 184-11). Tynia Gaither was second in the 200m with a PR of 22.80 to tie for fifth on USC's all-time list and the women's 4x100m relay took second with a time of 43.59, the ninth-fastest time in school history.
SENIOR STEPTER SETS SCHOOL 400M RECORD - Senior co-captain Jaide Stepter entered this season as one of the top 400m IH runners in the country and a key member of USC's highly-ranked 4x400m relay team, but has opened eyes with her immense talent at any distance. Stepter opened up her 2016 outdoor season by winning the 200m dash with a PR of 23.23 (-1.2) at the Trojan Invitational on March 19, which is 19th in the country. Then in only her second 400m race as a collegian and first since 2013, she won the event at the C&G Challenge on March 26 with a USC record-time of 50.91, tops in the country. She broke Carol Rodriguez' record of 51.39 (2008) and tied the Loker Stadium record set by Monique Henderson (2005). Then Stepter opened up in her signature event the 400m IH at the Pepsi Invitational on April 9 and won with a time of 55.91, already second in the country. She has a 400m IH PR of 55.83 which ranks third on USC's all-time list. She won the Pac-12 400m IH title each of the last two seasons and took eighth in the event at the 2015 NCAA Championships to earn All-America honors. She also ran on the Trojan 4x400m relay which set the school indoor and outdoor record and placed second at the 2015 NCAA Championships. During the 2016 indoor season, Stepter set the USC 400m record of 52.22 to place sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
TOP 25 TROJANS - In the early season, USC has 19 athletes and relays which have posted 25 top 25 marks in the country. Women: Ellis (11th - 400m), Gaither (14th - 100m, 7th - 200m), Graham (20th - 100m HH), Hill (T-8th - 100m, T-2nd - 200m), Iuel (12th - 400m IH, 7th - Hep.), Jones (T-13th - LJ), Novy (1st - DT), Sapa (23rd - SP), Stepter (19th - 200m, 1st - 400m, 2nd - 400m IH), 4x100m (8th) and 4x400m (4th). Men: Cunningham (3rd - HJ), Ford (T-11th - 800m), Jackson (10th - LJ), Katnik (12th - SP), Morgan (3rd - 400m), Ponzio (8th - SP), Sloan (11th - LJ, 22nd - TJ), 4x100m (24th).
GAITHER GOT HER GROOVE BACK - USC senior sprinter Tynia Gaither has had a long wait to prove she is one of the top sprinters in the country. Gaither was well on the way to proving it last season, already qualifying for the NCAA Championships and reaching the quarterfinals in the 200m, before a hamstring injury during the 4x100m qualifying ended her season. Then, since she had used up two indoor seasons at Georgia before transferring to USC, she could not compete for the Trojans this past indoor season. Gaither placed sixth in the 200m and eighth in the 100m dashes at the 2014 NCAA Championships. She opened up at the Power Conference Cardinal & Gold Challenge on March 26 with a time of 23.37 in the 200m and was part of the 4x100m relay which ran the then-10th-fastest time in USC history. She then set a PR by running 22.80 (+0.9) in the 200m at the Pepsi Invitational, tied for the fifth-fastest time in school history and seventh in the country this season. She also ranks just outside of the USC top 10 in the 100m with a PR of 11.27 and is in USC's top 10 in the 4x100m and 4x400m.
THYMES TO SHINE - With the departure of last season's top two sprinters Andre De Grasse and BeeJay Lee, it is time for USC senior Just'N Thymes to step up. Thymes had a solid first season at USC after transfering from Riverside City College, posting best of 10.37 in the 100m and a PR of 20.46 in the 200m. Since he had missed the fall training sessions before his transfer, Thymes could never really get rolling. He did, however, finish third at the Pac-12 Championships with a time of 20.75, making it a 1-2-3 finish by the Trojans in the event. Thymes did have some leg injuries during the indoor season, but the coaches believe he is capable of big things this outdoor season. Thymes has a 100m PR of 10.18 set while at Riverside City College. He is expected to open up this season at the Mt. SAC Relays.
CUNNINGHAM CONTINUES TO SOAR - Sophomore high jumper Randall Cunningham had a great first season as a Trojan, culminating with an eighth-place tie in the high jump (7-1.00) at the NCAA Championships, becoming the only freshman All-American in the event. He won the USC-UCLA Dual Meet high jump title with a clearance of 7-2.50 (2.20m), took second at the Pac-12 Championships with a jump of 7-1.00 (2.16m) and had an outdoor PR of 7-4.25 (2.24m) at the Florida Relays on April 4 which moved him into fifth on USC's all-time list. During the indoor season, Cunningham had an indoor PR of 7-5.00 (2.26m) to win at the Conference Clash on Jan. 22. He opened up his outdoor season with a win at the C&G Challenge on March 26 with a clearance of 7-3.75 (2.23m), his highest height in competition on his home track. That currently ranks as the third-highest clearance this outdoor season. He also won the high jump at the Pepsi Invitational on April 9 with a clearance of 7-1.50 (2.17m).
STRONG IN THE SHOT - When Nick Ponzio took third in the shot put at the 2015 Pac-12 Championships, he became the first Trojan to score in the event at the conference meet since 2010. Ponzio went on to set the USC freshman record of 64-1 (19.43m) and move into sixth on USC's all-time list, while placing eighth at the NCAA Championships. He was the first Trojan to score at nationals since Noah Bryant won the shot put title in 2007. Ponzio opened 2016 with a mark of 62-3.00 (18.97) at the C&G Challenge on March 26 and improved to 62-8.75 (19.12) to win at the California Collegiate on April 2, good for 8th in the country. He made it 3-for-3 in shot put competitions this season by winning at the Pepsi Invitational on April 9 with a mark of 62-1.25. The Trojans look like they appear ready to stay on the national scene in the event with the addition of freshmen Matthew Katnik and Nathan Bultman. Katnik won every meet he was in as a senior, including winning the California State Meet with a throw of 72-0. He had a best in the high school shot of 72-3 (22.02m) which ranks 10th on the all-time high school shot put list. He opened up his collegiate career with a winning throw of 61-7.75 (18.79m) to win at the Trojan Invitational on March 19 is already less than a foot outside the USC all-time top 10 list in the event and ranks 12th in the country. Bultman was second to Katnik at the California State Meet last season and had a high school best of 64-5. He opened up his collegiate career in the shot put with a mark of 58-7.25 (17.86m) to take second at the Trojan Invitational and then improved to 59-1.25 (18.01m) at the C&G Challenge on March 26 and to 59-11.25 (18.27) at the Pepsi Invitational on April 9.
