Gerald, Garland, Erasmus and Hope Score for USC On Day 2 Of Big Ten T&F Championships

Saturday, May 17

Eugene, Ore.

TBA

USC

Big Ten Championships

Photo by: Kirby Lee-Image of Sport

Gerald, Garland, Erasmus and Hope Score for USC On Day 2 Of Big Ten T&F Championships

May 17, 2025 | Track & Field

Trojans advance 16 more athletes to finals, including five in the women’s 100m dash

USC's Elias Gerald tied for second in the men's high jump, Reese Garland took fourth and Ashley Erasmus sixth in the women's discus throw, Alyssa Hope placed eighth in the women's long jump and 16 athletes advanced to event finals tomorrow during the second day of the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships being held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. today (May 17).

After qualifying 27 athletes (13 men, 14 women) to finals over the first two days of the competition, USC will have 15 men and 19 women competing in individual events tomorrow during the final day of the Big Ten Championships. USC also will have both the men's and women's 4x100m and 4x400m relays competing. After nine of 21 events scored, USC men's team is currently tied for 11^th place with seven points. After six of 21 events scored in the women's competition, USC is in ninth place with nine points.

Junior Elias Gerald became the first Trojan to score at the Big Ten Championships when he tied for second in the men's high jump. Gerald had a best clearance of 7-0.25 (2.14m) and went out at 7-1.50 (2.17m). Gerald earned the men's team seven points. It was an impressive result for Gerald who arrived in Eugene on Thursday and had a medical scare which required a visit to the ER at PeaceHealth Hospital.
Sophomore Reese Garland and freshman Ashley Erasmus were the first USC women to earn points at the championships when they finished fourth and sixth respectively in the women's discus throw. The pair earned USC eight points. Garland had a best mark of 179-1 (54.60m) in the third round which she needed to reach the final, as she stood in 11^th place before that toss. She did not improve in the final. Erasmus had a best throw of 175-1 (53.37m), which came in the first round. Junior transfer Karyssa Owens reached the final in ninth with a third-round mark of 167-3 (50.99m), but did not move up into a scoring position in her final three throws.
Sophomore Alyssa Hope placed eighth in the women's long jump with a best leap of 19-11.00/6.07m (+0.8). Hope earned the Trojan women another point in the team competition.
Sophomore Jacob Andrews and junior William Jones both won their men's 400m prelims heats to automatically advance to the final tomorrow. Andrews had a time of 46.03 to advance second overall and Jones had a time of 46.24 to advance fourth to Sunday's final.
The USC women's team advanced three runners to the 400m final tomorrow. Junior Yemi John (52.60) and sophomore Madison Whyte (53.08) won their heats to automatically advance. Junior Christine M. Mallard placed second to John in the third heat with a time of 53.28 to advance seventh to the final. John was second and Whyte fifth among the qualifiers for the final.
Sophomore transfer Edward Nketia won his 100m prelims heat with a time of 10.22 (+0.1) to automatically advance second to tomorrow's event final. Junior Max Thomas won his heat with a time 10.32 (+0.0) to also automatically advance, posting the seventh-fastest qualifying time. Junior transfer Garrett Kaalund took second in his heat and advanced sixth to Sunday's final with a time of 10.31 (+0.4).
USC entered five women in the 100m dash and all five advanced to the nine-woman final tomorrow. It is the first time a school has advanced five runners to the Big Ten women's 100m final since at least 2004. Freshman Brianna Selby won her heat and had the fastest qualifying time of 11.20 (+1.2), senior Samirah Moody won her heat and was second overall with a time of 11.29 (+0.3) and junior Jassani Carter won her heat and was third overall with a time of 11.29 (+0.8), 0.002 seconds behind Moody's time. Junior transfer Dajaz DeFrand was second in her heat and advanced sixth overall with a time of 11.43 (+0.8) and freshman Olivia Pace was second in her heat and seventh among qualifiers with a time of 11.45 (+1.2).
Senior Johnny Brackins Jr. won his 110m hurdles preliminary heat with a season-best and fastest time of the day of 13.41 (+0.7) to automatically advance to tomorrow's event final. Senior transfer Brithton Senior took second in his heat to automatically advance to the final with a time of 13.63 (-0.1). Senior had the fifth-fastest qualifying time.
Sophomore Nonah Waldron won her 100m hurdles prelims heat with a time of 13.16 (-0.8) to automatically advance to tomorrow's final. Her time was fourth among the qualifiers.
Freshman Falyn Lott completed her first collegiate heptathlon and finished 13^th overall with a personal-best 5,142 points.

The USC track and field team will be back in action tomorrow for the final day of the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships beginning at 10:10 a.m. for the Trojans when Jaren Holmes competes in the men's triple jump.

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