Indoor Champion USC Track & Field To Host Trojan Invitational This Weekend

Friday, March 21

Wilmington, Calif,

TBA

USC

Ron & Sharlene Allice Trojan Invitational

Indoor Champion USC Track & Field To Host Trojan Invitational This Weekend

March 19, 2025 | Track & Field

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Outdoor season opens at Allyson Felix Field

The USC Track and Field team will host the 2025 outdoor season-opening Ron & Sharlene Allice Trojan Invitational on March 21-22. The hammer throw and discus throw will be held on March 21 at the Colich Throws Facility in Wilmington, Calif. The remainder of the meet will be held at Allyson Felix Field at Loker Stadium on March 22. The action begins both days at 11 a.m. Joining USC at the meet will be Long Beach State, Cal State Los Angeles, CSUN, Harvard, the Utah women's team and several distance runners from Salt Lake Community College.

MEN'S TEAM WINS NCAA INDOOR TITLE, WOMEN TAKE THIRD: The USC men's team won the team title and the women's team placed third at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships held at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Va. on March 14-15. Junior Dajaz DeFrand was the only individual event-winner, taking home the crown in the women's 60m dash. USC was one of two schools to have both the men's and women's teams finish in the top three and its 74 combined points were more than any other program. The USC men's team title was its third NCAA Indoor team title in program history and its first since the 1972 season (also won in 1967). The men used a complete team effort to win the team title, as they did not win any individual events. The women's team's third-place finish was its highest since it placed second in 2019 and the 35 points scored were its most since also scoring 35 points to place fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2021.

USC'S FIRST-TEAM INDOOR ALL-AMERICANS: Men: Jacob Andrews (4x400m), Johnnie Blockburger (200m, 4x400m), Johnny Brackins Jr. (60m H, LJ), Elias Gerald (HJ), William Jones (400m, 4x400m), Garrett Kaalund (200m, 4x400m), Brady Palen (HJ), JC Stevenson (60m, LJ), Travis Williams (60m). Women: Jassani Carter (4x400m), Dajaz DeFrand (60m, 200m), Yemi John (4x400m), Christine M. Mallard (4x400m), Samirah Moody (60m), Temi Ojora (TJ), Madison Whyte (200m, 4x400m).

ANOTHER MEET, ANOTHER RECORD: A USC athlete has set or tied a school record in nine consecutive meets, dating back to the 2024 NCAA West Preliminary Rounds: 2024 NCAA West Prelims (Temi Ojora - WLJ), 2024 NCAA Championships (Jasmine Jones - W-400m H), Spokane Sports Showcase (Johnny Brackins Jr. - M-60m H), Red Raider Invite (JC Stevenson - M-60m, William Jones - M-600y, Yemi John - W-600y), Collegiate Classic (Falyn Lott - Freshman pentathlon record), Tiger Paw Invitational (Brackins Jr. - M-60m H), USATF Indoors (M-60m H, USC & Big Ten record), Big Ten Indoor Championships (Falyn Lott- Freshman pentathlon record) and NCAA Indoor Championships (W-4x400m - John, Carter, Mallard, Whyte).

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP: It looked like USC had won its first Big Ten team title, but about 15 minutes after the meet, the Trojans 4x400m relay team was disqualified and eight points came off the board, leaving USC 6.5 points behind Oregon (106-99.5). USC's men won four individual titles, more than any other school. USC's women also won four events, tied for the most among the 18 schools. Trojan men winning titles were Johnny Brackins Jr. (60m H and Long Jump), William Jones (400m) and JC Stevenson (60m). USC women earning titles were Dajaz DeFrand (60m and 200m), Temi Ojora (Triple Jump) and the 4x400m relay. The women's team placed third in its first Big Ten Indoor Championships.

RON AND SHARLENE ALLICE: The Trojan Invitational was renamed the Ron & Sharlene Allice Trojan Invitational in 2023 in honor of USC's esteemed former Director of Track & Field Ron Allice and his wife Sharlene. Ron Allice led the USC program from 1995-2013 and his men's teams posted seven top five finishes and the women's teams six top five finishes at the NCAA Championships. The 2001 USC women's team won the NCAA title under his leadership.

DYNAMIC DUAL-THREAT DUO: Trojan junior JC Stevenson and senior Johnny Brackins Jr. both earned indoor All-America honors in two events. Stevenson placed sixth in the 60m dash and sixth in the long jump. He set the USC 60m dash record with a time of 6.46 in the NCAA Indoor Championships semifinals. He also led the country with an indoor long jump of 26-9.75 (8.17m). Brackins Jr. placed fourth in the 60m hurdles and eighth in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships. During the indoor season he set the USC record of 7.43 in the 60m hurdles and ranked No. 4 in the long jump. He also placed third in the 60m hurdles at the USATF Indoor Championships with his PR of 7.43.

BRODERICK READY FOR SECOND SEASON: USC sophomore All-American discus thrower Racquil Broderick is ready for action after a standout freshman campaign. In his first season as a Trojan, he set the USC freshman discus throw record with a mark of 204-6 (62.34m) at the Beach Opener on March 2…that throw moved him to second on USC's all-time discus throw list, behind only the mark of 206-0 (62.78m) set by Gary Carlsen in 1967. He won the USC-UCLA Dual Meet discus throw title with a mark of 198-1 (60.39m) on April 27 and placed third in the shot put with a PR of 52-7.50 (16.04m) on April 28. Broderick won the Pac-12 discus throw title with a mark of 192-5 (58.65m) on May 12. He earned first-team All-America honors by placing second at the NCAA Championships with a discus throw of 202-8 (61.77m), the only underclassman to score in the event. He became the first Trojan to score in the discus throw since Aaron Dan in 2010 (5th) and the first USC freshman to score in the event since Darrell Elder in 1975. Broderick's second-place finish in the event was the highest by a Trojan since Ralph Fruguglietti also placed second with a throw of 202-0 in 1977, which was the previous best mark by a Trojan in the final before Broderick's mark. Broderick competed at the Jamaica Championships and placed fifth with a discus throw of 201-0 (61.27m). He did not compete during the indoor season.

BRACKINS JR. HURDLES INTO RECORD BOOKS AT USATFs: Johnny Brackins Jr. placed third in the 60m H at the USATF Indoor Championships on Feb. 22 with a PR, USC-record, Big Ten-record and NCAA-leading time of 7.43. He also advanced to the final earlier in the day with a time of 7.44. The previous Big Ten record was 7.47 set by Wisconsin's Reggie Torian in 1997. Brackins Jr. becomes the fourth-fastest collegiate 60m hurdler of all-time, trailing only Grant Holloway (7.35), Trey Cunningham (7.38) and Daniel Roberts (7.41).

DEFRAND IS DA' ONE: USC junior transfer Dajaz DeFrand won the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships 60m dash title with a time of 7.09. Her time moved her into a second-place tie on USC's all-time list with Angela Williams and TeeTee Terry, the only other USC women to win the NCAA 60m dash title (Williams -2002, Terry - 2019). DeFrand also placed fourth in the 200m dash final with a time of 22.70, earning first-team All-America honors in both events. DeFrand also won the Big Ten 60m title with a meet-record time of 7.10 and 200m dash title with a PR of 22.62. She was named Women's Athlete of the Big Ten Meet and then was named Big Ten Indoor Women's Track Athlete of the Year on March 19.

FOLLOW THE TROJANS ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Keep up with everything USC track & field this year by following @USC_Track_Field on Instagram, X and TikTok.

YOU MIGHT NEED A PROGRAM: USC added 35 new athletes to its track and field program since the end of the 2024 season.

NEXT MEET: USC will next be competing at the Battle on the Bayou at Bernie Moore Stadium in Baton Rouge, La. on March 28-29.