USC Trojans' Men's Track and Field Wins Share Of National Championship

The Trojans are the third team to claim an Indoor and Outdoor National Championship in the same year, and the first since 2015. 

USC scored in seven events at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, to help secure the team title. 

The Trojans scored all of their points on the final day of competition, and earned their team title without winning any individual event title.

The Men’s 4x100m relay team composed of senior Travis Williams, junior Max Thomas, graduate transfer Taylor Banks and junior transfer Garrett Kaalund placed second in the race with a time of 38.46 – the time that moved the group to second on USC’s all time 4x100m relay times. 

Thomas then went on to the 100m and placed second, outleaning his opponent by .001 seconds to add eight more points on the board for the Trojans. This is the first time a Trojan male athlete scored in the race since 2021, and the highest place finish since 2018. 

USC also got points on the board from a strong showing in the 200m dash, with Kaalund placing third and Thomas placing sixth. 

Junior William Jones placed second in the 400m with 45.53 to add another eight points to the Trojans scoreboard. It was the first time Jones had earned All-American honors in the outdoor 400m race, marking his finish the highest since 2018 when Michael Norman won the title in 2018. 

The final point count came from the 1,600 meter relay results. Texas A&M was set up to take the win, but a late surge from the South Florida anchor earned a first place finish and 10 points to USF’s score. 

Texas A&M placed second for eight points, the Razorbacks placed third for six, and USC placed eighth scoring one. A first place finish for A&M in the 1,600 meter relay would’ve earned them 10 points and been crowned sole National Champions with Arkansas and USC tied for second.

However, after the finish Arkansas protested that USF had hindered one of the Arkansas competitors, but the protest was denied and the Trojans and Aggies were announced as co-outdoor track and field national champions. 

"It is just an awesome feeling for the program, the University, the USC community, all of our fans and these student-athletes, they worked their butts off.. This team, these student-athletes, they just did a fantastic job staying focused and doing everything these last couple of days," said USC Director of Track and Field Quincy Watts. “They’re champions and I’m just so proud of everyone, the student-athletes, the staff, just everybody. Teamwork makes the dream work.” 

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