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USC Sets 3 Collegiate Records, Places 4th At NCAA T&F Championships
June 08, 2018 | Track & Field
Norman, Benjamin & 4x400m relay set records while winning NCAA titles
Michael Norman in the 400m, Rai Benjamin in the 400m hurdles and USC's 4x400m relay all won national titles and set collegiate records during the final day of the 2018 Men's NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. today (June 8). The Trojans scored 34 points to finish in fourth place. In addition, Lyndsey Lopes competed in the first four events of the women's heptathlon championship and finished the first day in 10th place with 3,437 points.
"Today was one of the most, if not the most exciting day as Director of Track & Field for USC," said Caryl Smith Gilbert. "I am totally elated with the performances. I'm more excited about this fourth-place trophy than I was with the second-place indoor trophy because we had two guys in Robert Ford and Ernie Sears get two points apiece, and that made a difference between earning a trophy and being out of the running for one. It is a big deal and I feel it was a better team effort. Rai (Benjamin) and Michael's (Norman) performances were astronomical, I've never seen anything like it. You knew they came in here ready to run, I've been preaching all year that it would be raining in Oregon. I loved the way the team settled in and just accepted whatever adversity that came its way today. That is what we have been working on - execution under all circumstances. It doesn't have to be perfect to get it done. Today I feel like they really got it done. Zach (Shinnick) and Ricky (Morgan) came through for us, without them we couldn't have a collegiate record in the 4x400m relay. They had great splits. They both have had some nagging injuries. It is easy to see who we left at home and how we could have gotten to the top of the podium, but for right now this is a great day. Three collegiate records in one day of program history...it's a great day to be a Trojan, Fight On!"
USC's 34 points were its most since scoring 40.5 points in 2015 and the fourth-place finish was its highest outdoors since tying for fourth in 2014. The last time USC finished higher in the team competition was a third-place finish in 2003.
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"Today was one of the most, if not the most exciting day as Director of Track & Field for USC," said Caryl Smith Gilbert. "I am totally elated with the performances. I'm more excited about this fourth-place trophy than I was with the second-place indoor trophy because we had two guys in Robert Ford and Ernie Sears get two points apiece, and that made a difference between earning a trophy and being out of the running for one. It is a big deal and I feel it was a better team effort. Rai (Benjamin) and Michael's (Norman) performances were astronomical, I've never seen anything like it. You knew they came in here ready to run, I've been preaching all year that it would be raining in Oregon. I loved the way the team settled in and just accepted whatever adversity that came its way today. That is what we have been working on - execution under all circumstances. It doesn't have to be perfect to get it done. Today I feel like they really got it done. Zach (Shinnick) and Ricky (Morgan) came through for us, without them we couldn't have a collegiate record in the 4x400m relay. They had great splits. They both have had some nagging injuries. It is easy to see who we left at home and how we could have gotten to the top of the podium, but for right now this is a great day. Three collegiate records in one day of program history...it's a great day to be a Trojan, Fight On!"
USC's 34 points were its most since scoring 40.5 points in 2015 and the fourth-place finish was its highest outdoors since tying for fourth in 2014. The last time USC finished higher in the team competition was a third-place finish in 2003.
- Norman was first on the track in a very anticipated men's 400m final as all eight participants had run sub-45 to qualify. Norman stormed around the track to victory with a collegiate record time of 43.61, breaking the record of 43.70 set by Fred Kerley last season. Norman's time also broke the NCAA finals record of 44.00 set by his coach Quincy Watts in 1992. He also bettered the Hayward Field record of 43.74 set by Michael Johnson in 1993. Norman's time is also the current world leader and he becomes the sixth best performer ever and the fastest American since Jeremy Wariner ran 43.45 in 2007. Norman was also the 2018 NCAA indoor 400m champion when he set a world record with a time of 44.52. Norman earned USC its first 10 points in the team competition.
- Norman became the 14th Trojans to win the 400m/440 yard NCAA title and the first since Bryshon Nellum in 2013. USC has scored in the outdoor 400m dash 11 times since 2006. Last year as a freshman, Norman ran 44.88 in the NCAA final to place fourth. He is a two-time outdoor 400m All-American.
- Rai Benjamin also rolled to victory in the men's 400m hurdles with a collegiate, meet and facility record of 47.02. His time is tied with Edwin Moses (1983) for the second-fastest men's 400m hurdles race ever recorded. Benjamin became USC's first 400m hurdles champion since Reggie Wyatt in 2013. Benjamin broke his own school record of 47.98 and broke the USC 400m hurdles finals record of 48.41 set by two-time Olympic champion Felix Sanchez in 2000. Benjamin placed second at the 2017 NCAA Championships in the event with a time of 48.33 before he transferred to USC. He is a three-time 400m hurdles All-American.
- Robert Ford had a time of 1:46.72 to place seventh in the men's 800m final and earn All-America honors. His time was just .08 seconds off his PR and he earned USC two points in the team competition. He became USC's first 800m All-American since Irek Sekretarski also placed seventh in 2009. The last Trojan to finish higher at the NCAA Championships was Ibrahim Okash who placed fourth in 1989. Ford's time of 1:46.72 is also the fastest ever run by a Trojan at the NCAA finals, bettering David Omwansa's time of 1:46.81 set in 1979.
- Earnest Sears also became an All-American by placing seventh in the men's high jump with a clearance of 7-1.75 (2.18m). He cleared 6-9.75 (2.08m) in his first attempt, then took two attempts to clear 6-11.75 (2.13m) and three to clear 7-1.75. He missed three times at 7-3.00 (2.21m) which would have been a PR. Sears becomes USC's first outdoor high jump All-American since teammate Randall Cunningham won the title in 2016. Sears joins Cunningham (2015) as USC's only freshmen outdoor All-Americans in the high jump. Sears earned USC two points in the team competition and USC has now scored nine times in the outdoor high jump since 2002.
- USC then put an exclamation point on the meet by winning the 4x400m relay with a collegiate, NCAA meet, Hayward Field and school record time of 2:59.00. USC's runners and splits for the race were Ricky Morgan Jr. (45.9), Rai Benjamin (43.7), Zach Shinnick (45.8) and Michael Norman (43.6). The previous NCAA record and NCAA championship record was 2:59.59 set by LSU in 2005. USC's previous school record in the men's 4x400m relay was 3:00.58 set in 1992. The last time the Trojans scored in the 4x400m relay at nationals was in 2013 when a team of Joey Hughes, Josh Mance, Reggie Wyatt and Bryshon Nellum ran 3:00.64 to place second. The only other time USC won the NCAA title in the 4x400m relay was when a team of Joel Andrews, Lloyd Johnson, Rayfield Beaton and Tom Andrews ran 3:04.50 to win in 1977.
- The day began with Lyndsey Lopes competing the heptathlon and she opened up in style by winning her 100m hurdles heat with a PR of 13.48 (+1.4). She earned 1,053 points in the event and was in fourth place after the first event.
- Next for Lopes was the heptathlon high jump, an event she also qualified for individually at the Championships, which will take place tomorrow during her last three events of the heptathlon. Lopes entered the competition at 5-6.50 (1.69m) and cleared that in her first attempt, as she did at the next height of 5-7.75 (1.72m). The bar then went up to 5-8.75 (1.75m) and Lopes missed all three attempts to finish tied for seventh in the event and earning 879 points. After two events, she had scored 1,932 points and was in seventh place.
- Lopes then had a best mark of 34-5.50 (10.50m) in the shot put. That throw was 21st overall and earned her 562 points. After three events she had scored 2,494 points and was in 16th place.
- The final event of the day was the 200m and she had a time of 24.40 (+0.1) to finish sixth in her heat and seventh overall. Lopes earned 943 points in the 200m dash to finish the day with 3,437 points, just 34 points off her first-day PR.
- Lopes ended day one in 10th place, just three points outside of eighth, 15 points out of seventh place and 44 points out of fifth place.
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