The USC men’s indoor track and field team placed second overall and the women’s team placed third at the Big Ten Championships in Indianapolis during the first weekend of March.
It was USC’s first time competing at the Big Ten Championships, after joining the conference in August 2024.
“USC is in their first year in the Big Ten, but made a statement showing they’re not here to mess around, and they’re going to be among the top of the conference,” said Ashley Tysaic from FloTrack, the track-oriented affiliate of the FloSports event streaming service.
The podium finish was controversial for the men’s team on Saturday, March 1 at the Indiana Farm Bureau Fall Creek Pavilion. The team appeared to win the title, but it was taken away after a protest in the 4x400m by the event winner, Purdue. The men’s team entered the relay in second place to Oregon and needed a top-two finish to secure the team title, according to RunnerSpace.com.
The Trojans appeared to finish in second in the event; However, the Boilermakers protested the race, claiming USC had impeded on a Purdue runner in the third leg of the relay. USC was consequently disqualified from the 4x400m event, ultimately putting it six and a half points behind the conference champion, Oregon, according to USC Track & Field.
“It was a really odd situation, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that before where the winner of an event protested it,” Tysiac said. “[Head Coach Quincy] Watts was saying they’re pretty disappointed and feel like they probably should’ve won the title, but they’re looking forward to NCAAs.”
Despite the disappointing result change for the Trojans, USC set records on multiple fronts in Indianapolis. Senior Johnny Brackins Jr. set the Big Ten Indoor Championship record in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, with junior Dajaz DeFrand setting the meet record in the women’s category of the same race, with the women’s 4x400m relay also setting a Big Ten Championship record.
“On the women’s side, we set a lot of personal bests,” Watts said, via a statement from USC Athletics. “I’m really excited about how Dajaz DeFrand is now second in the NCAA 60m and had a personal-best in the 200m.”
DeFrand is a junior transfer from Florida State University who has been an impact sprinter for the Trojans, with Tysiac anticipating her momentum to “propel her to big things at the NCAA Championships.”
A plethora of Trojans earned All-Big Ten First Team honors, DeFrand included, following the conclusion of championship weekend in Indianapolis. Alongside DeFrand was junior sprinter Jassani Carter, junior sprinter Yemi John, junior sprinter Christine Mallard, graduate jumper Temi Ojora and sophomore sprinter Madison Whyte earning the honor on the women’s side, with Brackins Jr., junior sprinter William Jones and junior jumper JC Stevenson taking the award on the men’s side.
Brackins Jr. is another runner that Tysiac predicted to be an important scorer at the NCAA Championships next weekend. “Brackins has just excelled in the 60-meter hurdles and the long jump,” Tysiac said. “He’s going to be someone who could be vying for some big team points for them next week.”
USC is ranked second on the men’s side and 11th on the women’s side in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s most recent indoor track & field rating index, as both squads prepare to head into the NCAA Championships next weekend.
“I think the Trojans have a good shot of performing well at NCAAs, it will be interesting to see how they stack up against some perennial powers in track and field, and some of those SEC programs that usually do really well at the NCAA level,” Tysiac said.
The Trojans will compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach on March 14 and 15.