For the third year in a row, the USC women's track & field team defeated UCLA at the annual dual meet held in Westwood on Sunday. The Women of Troy won 13 or 19 events and outscored the Bruins 97-66, while the men's team fell 103-60 and won eight events. The Trojan women have won eight of the last nine meetings with their crosstown rivals.
"I'm proud of the team today, I loved the way they finished the meet," said USC Director of Track & Field Caryl Smith Gilbert. "We came in as underdogs on both sides and we came out on top for the women. We had great performances on the men's side and the women really stepped up and came through."
The women's team started the day strong and never looked back, with Tanya Sapa winning the Women of Troy's first event of the day with a mark of 55-7.75 in the shot put and the women's 4x400m relay team ending the meet with a winning time of 3:36.70. Jaide Stepter, Kendall Ellis and Cameron Pettigrew finished one, two, three in the 400m and Tynia Gaither, DeAnna Hill and Ellis later swept the 200m to give the Trojans a combined 18 points in just two events. Gather also won the 100m with a PR of 11.21 (+0.1) and Stepter also finished first in the 400m IH.
On the men's side, sophomore Adoree' Jackson led the way, winning the long jump, the 100m and running the final leg in the victorious 4x100m relay. Ricky Morgan, who ran the second leg of the relay, won the 400m race in 46.32 as the only Trojan in the event. Diego Lopez and Nathan Bultman won the javelin and hammer throw, respectively, scoring 10 points for the Trojan men in the field.
Next up, the USC men's and women's track & field teams will prepare for the Pac-12 Championships. The Multi-Events Championships will be held in Seattle Washington on May 7 and 8 while the Pac-12 Championships will be held in Seattle on May 14 and 15. Be sure to follow @USC_Track_Field to stay up to date on all postseason track news.
