University Southern California Trojans
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
USC Cross Country To Open Season At The Mark Covert Classic Saturday
September 01, 2022 | Women's Cross Country
Young team looks to build upon momentum from last season
The USC cross country team will open up the 2022 season at the Mark Covert Classic (5K) to be held at the Carbon Canyon Regional Park in Brea, Calif. on September 3 at 8:45 a.m. The time is a change from the original start time.
The Trojans are expected to have eight running in the season-opening meet Janiah Brown, Isabelle Cairns, Ashlee Gallegos, Liyat Kebbede, Mihajla Milovanovic, Giovanna Pisano, Brooke Rodi and Lucy Westlake.
Last year was coach Jebreh Harris' first season leading the USC cross country program and the team made major strides, posting its best finish at the Pac-12 Championships since 2014 and advancing as a team to the West Regional for the first time since 2014. A strong foundation was laid down from which to build upon.
Coach Harris had the following comments as the team heads into the the 2022 season:
The thoughts heading into the 2022 season this year is that we want to build off last year. This being my second season we want to continue the forward progression of the program. We want to continue to bring people in to contribute, but also get the returners to help with the growth and maturity. I'm also more acclimated to USC and southern California and the resources available.
August and September will be a lot of good, hard training for the team. For the first meet I really want to get the freshmen acclimated, get their racing feet wet. When October rolls around, that is when I expect our team to really showcase more of the future to come. September is definitely a strong training phase and a building and preparation for the championship season.
With training right now, the freshmen are looking really good led by Ashlee Gallegos and Lucy Westlake. Of our returners, Mihajla Milovanovic and Janiah Brown have been looking very good with a lot of the workouts and Giovanna Pisano has been steady. We will get into the groove come late September, early October.
The athletes really grasp the concept of pack running. The returners love the energy, especially as we got together even more so at the end of the season for the Pac-12 Championships and at the NCAA Regionals. Lucy and Ashlee come from high school teams which were very strong. Ashlee's team won a state championship and Lucy comes from a high school which is really well known in Illinois, so they are used to a strong representation in cross country. The whole team understands the importance of pack running, running together. Of course, at the end of the race you want to be as close as you can, but if individuals need to break off and pull and push towards the end, we are going to do it.
We are more together as a group. The team bonded very well. With the team being very young - we graduated some strong seniors - I think the team is very young across the board, meaning mostly sophomores and freshmen and some juniors, they have the opportunity to build their culture as a whole, which is great. Every year the culture changes and underclassmen have to step up and take the lead and a lot of our underclassmen are doing that, stepping up and forming their identity. It is going well. We really want forward momentum, from what we built last year. The performance will come in time.
I believe hosting the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships later this season means we want to represent USC in all three sports – indoor and outdoor track and field, as well as cross country. Having the opportunity to host Pac-12s shows our involvement, shows our commitment and respect for cross country and for our school.
The Trojans are expected to have eight running in the season-opening meet Janiah Brown, Isabelle Cairns, Ashlee Gallegos, Liyat Kebbede, Mihajla Milovanovic, Giovanna Pisano, Brooke Rodi and Lucy Westlake.
Last year was coach Jebreh Harris' first season leading the USC cross country program and the team made major strides, posting its best finish at the Pac-12 Championships since 2014 and advancing as a team to the West Regional for the first time since 2014. A strong foundation was laid down from which to build upon.
Coach Harris had the following comments as the team heads into the the 2022 season:
The thoughts heading into the 2022 season this year is that we want to build off last year. This being my second season we want to continue the forward progression of the program. We want to continue to bring people in to contribute, but also get the returners to help with the growth and maturity. I'm also more acclimated to USC and southern California and the resources available.
August and September will be a lot of good, hard training for the team. For the first meet I really want to get the freshmen acclimated, get their racing feet wet. When October rolls around, that is when I expect our team to really showcase more of the future to come. September is definitely a strong training phase and a building and preparation for the championship season.
With training right now, the freshmen are looking really good led by Ashlee Gallegos and Lucy Westlake. Of our returners, Mihajla Milovanovic and Janiah Brown have been looking very good with a lot of the workouts and Giovanna Pisano has been steady. We will get into the groove come late September, early October.
The athletes really grasp the concept of pack running. The returners love the energy, especially as we got together even more so at the end of the season for the Pac-12 Championships and at the NCAA Regionals. Lucy and Ashlee come from high school teams which were very strong. Ashlee's team won a state championship and Lucy comes from a high school which is really well known in Illinois, so they are used to a strong representation in cross country. The whole team understands the importance of pack running, running together. Of course, at the end of the race you want to be as close as you can, but if individuals need to break off and pull and push towards the end, we are going to do it.
We are more together as a group. The team bonded very well. With the team being very young - we graduated some strong seniors - I think the team is very young across the board, meaning mostly sophomores and freshmen and some juniors, they have the opportunity to build their culture as a whole, which is great. Every year the culture changes and underclassmen have to step up and take the lead and a lot of our underclassmen are doing that, stepping up and forming their identity. It is going well. We really want forward momentum, from what we built last year. The performance will come in time.
I believe hosting the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships later this season means we want to represent USC in all three sports – indoor and outdoor track and field, as well as cross country. Having the opportunity to host Pac-12s shows our involvement, shows our commitment and respect for cross country and for our school.
Monday, September 12
