Getting To Know Isaiah Jewett

Junior transfer middle distance runner Isaiah Jewett is in his first season of eligibility at USC and is confident he can build upon a breakout 2017 sophomore campaign at UC Irvine and a strong year of development and training in 2018. After a relatively quiet freshman season in 2016, Jewett established himself as one of the Big West Conference's strongest competitors in middle distances in 2017. In his sophomore season with the Anteaters, Jewett captured the Big West 800m title and placed 11^th at the NCAA Championship with a PR of 1:47.43, good for second all-time in UCI history. He earned four Big West Male Track Athlete of the Week honors in the process. In 2018 he ran independently at the Jim Bush Track and Field Championships, where he set PRs of 46.40 in the 400m and 21.2 in the 200m. He aims to continue his string of successes in 2019, and help the Trojans to an outdoor Pac-12 championship.

Q: What were the factors in your decision to transfer from UC Irvine to USC?

IJ: I transferred from UC Irvine to USC because there were better opportunities academically and in terms of what I wanted to do, which is social change and animation, Irvine couldn't provide for me. Also, since I knew assistant coach Quincy [Watts], he told me that USC is always on you about your future, and I wanted to be a part of a program that was always looking towards the future and looking out for your future. And then, track wise, USC makes champions and I wanted to be a champion.

Q: How challenging was it to adjust to a different program?

IJ: As a whole, it wasn't that difficult of an adjustment, but the early mornings were difficult. Getting up at 5:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. was a little different for me. Studying was a little bit different too, because we have our private tutors, which was new for me, and really helpful. So, the transition wasn't really hard. Our coaches literally laid out what we have to do to be successful in the classroom before school started, and I just kind of followed that, which made me acclimate easier.

Q: What preparation went into winning the Big West 800m title and finishing 11^th in the 800m at the NCAA Championships, and what was it like to accomplish those feats?

IJ: It was hard, because in the previous year I didn't even make the conference final. Going into my sophomore year, I knew that I wanted to go to Nationals. I saw all these people doing really well and I knew that I really wanted to be there. My mom and sisters were really there for me to help me mentally. That, and a combination of what they were telling me and the anime shows I watched inspiring me, led me to push through and win that conference title and make it to Nationals. Once I got to Nationals, it felt like all my hard work was for something. It meant something at that point. It was really amazing that I had that opportunity, because I used literally everything I had every practice, every time I went to sleep, every time I watched videos. I put everything into everything I did, and it finally felt like I got the outcome that I deserved.

Q: What are some of your favorite anime shows?

IJ: My favorite shows would have to be Naruto and My Hero Academia. My favorite non-superhero show that helped me through the season was this show called Haikyu!!, which is a volleyball anime, but relates so much to all sports because it shows the struggles that athletes go through to make it to the national level. I felt like it tied into what I was doing.

Q: Was track always your primary sport growing up?

IJ: Well, at a young age I played soccer but my mom just wanted me to live life and have fun. She had that motto for me because she felt like she was really hard on my sisters, so she wanted me to literally just find what I loved and do it to the best of my ability. She wanted me to find exactly what I wanted to do and make sure I was the best at it. That kind of just led me to track after soccer. Originally, it wasn't that I wanted to run, it was that I wanted to beat my older sisters at something, and track was the one thing I was able to beat them at. Then, there was always another person and another person to beat. Little did I know, I was into it after that.

Q: What are your team and individual goals for this season?

IJ: The team goal that I have is for everyone to come together and win conference. I want everyone to come across the board and compete. I want everybody to literally just "Fight On!" and show that we're here and a force to be reckoned with. I want us to prove that we're not a one-hit wonder and we're going to come back even stronger this year. My individual goal is just to compete and run, and be one of the top 800m runners in the country. I don't want to say I want to be the best, but I want to be competing with the best. Once I know that I'm competing with the best, all I have to do is execute, and once I execute better than everybody else, then I'm able to be the best.

Q: What are your goals after college?

IJ: I definitely want to run professionally, but I also want to get involved in social change and movements, and see if I can help the world be a better place. On top of that, I want to make my own cartoons as well.

Q: Who has been the biggest inspiration in your life?

IJ: It would have to be my moms – one's my stepmom and one's my regular mom – and my sisters. They all put so much time into raising me, because I grew up without my father around. They spent so much time raising me, making sure I was healthy-minded, making sure I was always happy, and they made sure a smile was on my face every day. My sisters packed my lunch every single day. When my mom couldn't do this stuff because she already did so much, my sisters would take over. They were really role models to me because regardless of how tired or stressed they were, they still took the time to entertain me and make sure I was happy. I think that is the true definition of strength; being able to do stuff when you're uncomfortable. So that's why I always look up to them.

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Isaiah Jewett

Getting To Know Isaiah Jewett

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Players Mentioned

Isaiah Jewett

Getting To Know Isaiah Jewett

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