Saturday, March 25
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USC Track & Field Wins 9 Events, Earns 10 2nd-Place Finishes At Aztec Invitational In San Diego
March 25, 2023 | Track & Field
Trojans winning today were Fierro, Jasmine Jones, Lear, Maccagnini, Moody, Temi Ojora, Poynter twice and the W-4x100m
USC kicked off the outdoor season by winning nine events and placing second in 10 others during the final day of the 44th Annual Aztec Invitational in San Diego, Calif. today (March 25). Â
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- Junior Jasmine Jones got her season off in style by running and winning her first collegiate 400m hurdles race with a PR of 56.53. That time moves Jones into seventh on USC's all-time list. Sophomore Maci Simmons had a PR of 59.48 to finish fifth.
- The USC "B" relay team of freshman Christine M. Mallard, junior Jan'Taijah Jones, freshman Jassani Carter and graduate student Zion Corrales-Nelson won with a time of 44.51. USC originally looked like it had gone 1-2 in the 4x100m relay, but the "A" relay team was disqualified for a pass outside of the zone.
- Graduate student Bobby Poynter won the men's 1500m early in the day with a PR of 3:50.77, then came back later to win the men's 800m with a time of 1:50.38. Also, freshman Charlie Jeffreson placed fifth in the 800m with a time of 1:51.53 and junior Josh Ligas placed eighth with a time of 1:54.83.
- Graduate student Bailey Lear won the women's 400m dash with a time of 52.76 and junior Kimberly Harris placed third with a time of 53.74.
- Sophomore Samirah Moody won the women's 200m with a time of 22.93, the same time as freshman Christine M. Mallard who finished second. Both women ran personal bests, as did five of the 10 Trojans in the event. USC had nine of the top 14 finishers in the event which featured 67 athletes. Jan'Taijah Jones was fourth with a time of 23.28 (+0.8), graduate transfer Allie Jones had a big PR of 23.35 (-0.4) to take fifth and Carter had a PR of 23.35 (+0.5) to finish sixth.
- Junior jumpers Temi Ojora and Dominique Ruotolo went 1-2 in the women's triple jump. Ojora had a best jump of 43-2.50/13.17m (+1.8) and Ruotolo a best of 42-3.50/12.89m (+3.0w).
- Sophomore Morgan Fierro won the men's 3000m steeplechase with a PR of 9:39.80. Junior and San Diego native Josh Ligas placed third in his first collegiate steeplechase with a time of 9:52.00.
- Sophomore Gigi Maccagnini won the women's 800 with a time of 2:07.39. Freshman Ashlee Gallegos finished fourth with a time of 2:11.35 and junior Alyssa Blockburger placed seventh with a time of 2:12.11.
- Maccagnini also placed second in the women's 1500m with a PR of 4:22.30. That time moved her into ninth on USC's all-time 1500m list. Gallegos placed eighth with a time of 4:39.81.
- Grad transfer Caisja Chandler tied her outdoor legal PR of 11.26 (+1.1) to finish second in the women's 100m. Carter placed fifth with a time of 11.76 (+1.1) and senior Chioma Okonkwo took eighth with a time of 11.85 (+1.1).
- Grad transfer Matthew Okonkwo took second in the men's 200m with a PR of 20.81 (+0.0), to edge freshman Justin Braun who had a PR of 20.82 (+0.0) to finish third. Grad transfer Chris Borzor placed fourth with a time of 21.03 (+0.0) and junior Johnnie Blockburger had a time of 21.13 (+0.0) to finish seventh. Six of the top 10 finishers in the event were Trojans, with freshman William Jones placing ninth with a time of 21.41 (+0.0) and grad transfer Michael Phillippy placing 10th with a time of 21.45 (-1.7).
- Borzor took second in the men's 100m dash with a time of 10.44 (+2.3w), .junior Ashton Allen was sixth with a time of 10.53 (+2.3w) and Matthew Okonkwo finished 14th with a PR of 10.67 (+0.6)
- Michael Phillippy took second place in the men's 400m race with a time of 46.59.
- Sophomore Johnny Brackins Jr. took second with a time of 13.89 (+1.9) and senior Tade Ojora third with a time of 13.93 (+1.9) in the men's 110m hurdles.
- The USC women's 4x400m relay team of Mallard, Chandler, Moody and Carter had a time of 3:37.87 to finish second. The "B" team of grad student Breanna Bernard-Joseph, Alyssa Blockburger, Brown and Maccagnini placed fifth with a time of 3:46.22.
- Freshman Elias Gerald tied for second and junior Dallas Wise placed fourth in the men's high jump. Both jumpers had a best clearance of 6-8.75 (2.05m).
- Sophomore Jalaysiya Smith placed third in the women's 100m hurdles with a time of 13.59 (-1.1).
- Fierro came back to finish third in his first collegiate 5000m race with a time of 15:11.41 and Gatua placed fifth with a time of 15:32.49.
- The men's "B" 4x400m relay team of Jones, Okonkwo, Borzor and Jeffreson had a time of 3:13.66 to finish third and the other relay team of Allen, Poynter, freshman Malik Mixon and Ligas had a time of 3:16.78 to finish fourth.
- Graduate student Karlee Freeman placed fifth in the women's discus throw, third among collegians, with a mark of 172-7 (52.62m).
- Graduate transfer Kamryn Elgersma placed sixth in the women's javelin throw with a PR of 142-9 (43.53m) in her first meet as a Trojan. In fact, all four Trojans had PRs as redshirt sophomore Abbey Knoll threw 133-11 (40.56m), grad transfer Allie Jones 130-0 (39.62m) and junior Annabel Doherty had a mark of 128-7 (39.20m).
- Freshman JC Stevenson had a jump of 23-9.00/7.24m (+0.5) in his final attempt of the day to move from ninth to sixth in the men's long jump.
- Freshman Lauren Reed tied for eighth in the women's long jump with a best jump of 19-0.75/5.81Â (+0.4).
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