UCLA
USC Dual Meet
Track & Field Sweeps USC in Rivalry Dual Meet
May 04, 2025 | Track & Field
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA track & field swept both ends of its annual deal meet with crosstown rival USC on Sunday at Drake Stadium, with the womenย recording a 92-71 win and the men notching an 82-81 victory.
It was the first sweep for UCLA in the annual series since 2013. It also marked the Bruins' first win on the women's side since 2013, and was the squad's highest score in the matchup since 2007 (98 points). The Bruin men had last downed the Trojans in 2023.
The UCLA women won 12 of 19 events, and received the full nine points in four events. The Bruin men won seven events, but scored either eight or nine points in five of those competitions.
Though the Bruin women led pretty much from wire to wire, it took some late dramatics for the men to clinch their win.
Shortly after 3 p.m. and with the score very close, the men's side of the meet was down to just the long jump and the 4x400 relay. Heading into the sixth and final attempt of the long jump, UCLA's Allan Hunter was in the lead at 7.49m, but USC occupied the second and fourth spots.
From there, Jeremy Zammit โ who was competing for just the second time so far this season โ hit a mark of 7.58m (24-10.5) on his sixth jump to move all the way up into first place. The Bruins eventually had a 1-2 finish in that event, instead of 1-3, to end up at 82 points.
That two-point improvement proved critical as it prevented USC from jumping back ahead when it won the 4x400 relay to end up with a final score of 81.
Sprinter Naomi Johnson was a clear standout on the women's side, winning a crowded 200m dash and setting UCLA all-time top-10 marks in both the 200 (22.91, 8th) and 100 (11.28, 8th).
Distance runner Mia Kane had a double for the Bruins, posting wins in the 1,500 (4:26.76) and steeplechase (10:17.27).
Ka'Leila Abrille also had an eye-catching performance in the women's pole vault, as her mark of 4.41m (14-5.5) was a meet record and lifetime-best while also moving her up to No. 3 all-time in school history.
On the men's side, thrower Michael Pinckney scored in three separate events, highlighted by a win in the men's discus (60.01m / 196-10).
Though it didn't figure into the scoring, UCLA also set a school record on Sunday in the women's 4x100 relay by a decent margin. The quartet of Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck, Johnson, Aly Conyers, and Taylor Snaer ran that race in 43.03, shaving .36 seconds off the previous school record which was established in 2022.
The Bruins are off next week, and next return to action with the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. From May 16-18.
TRACK EVENTS RECAP
UCLA started off the day's races on a strong note, placing fix of the six scorers in the men's and women's 1,500m runs. Tristan Amell (3:43.78) and Andreas Dybdahl (3:44.34) both logged season-best times for the men to post a 2-3 finish. Kane (4:26.76) locked down the first win of her double while leading a 1-2-3 finish ahead of Kaho Cichon (4:26.80) and Rose Pittman (4:27.10).
The Bruins continued their dominant distance showing in the afternoon with the steeplechase races, sweeping both of those races. Aaron Cantu (9:31.10) led the Bruin men, while Kane picked up the win for the women at 10:17.27.
Ndjip-Nyemeck was the Bruins' top performer in the women's 100m hurdles, posting her second-best time of the year at 13.01 to hold off the field and claim the win. Celeste Polzonetti had a season-best 13.24 to place third and score for the women. Di'Niko Bates had a strong burst at the end of the men's 110m hurdles to end up in second place at 13.63. That time was good for No. 5 in UCLA school history.
Conyers followed up after the hurdles by notching a 51.80 in the women's 400m, placing third and moving up to No. 8 in the UCLA track annals.
Shortly after, Johnson had the first of her top-10 runs with an 11.28 in the women's 100m dash. That time was good for third place and put her at No. 8 in program history.
UCLA nearly swept the 800m races. Rose Pittman's 2:06.96 was good for a win on the women's side, and Bennett Booth-Genthe led for a large part of the men's race before having to settle for second at 1:48.17.
The Bruins won both ends of the 400m hurdles in disparate fashion. First, Tamaal Myers inched ahead of a three-man pack to secure a win on the men's side at 50.46. Then on the women's side, Sonia Virk scored a relatively-comfortable win after running a PR at 57.11.
UCLA's top sprints result came in the women's 200m. Johnson led the field with her PR time of 22.91, and Taylor Snaer (23.06) came in second by thousands of a second to secure a runner-up finish.
The Bruins closed out the individual track events with another distance sweep. Michael Mireles (8:15.56) paced the Bruin men in the 3k, while Annika Salz (9:57.02) finished first for the women.
FIELD EVENTS RECAP
UCLA's throwers set the tone for dual meet early on by sweeping in the first events of the day โ the hammer throw. Kris Emig picked up the win on the men's side at 69.95m (229-6) as part of a 1-2-3 finish, while Lyvante Su'emai started a busy day by picking up the women's hammer win at 58.91m (193-3). She would later score in the javelin and shot put while finishing fourth in the shot put.
Shamar Cook and Leon Gillis were able to secure a 2-3 finish for the Bruins in the men's high jump, notching twin marks of 2.00m (6-6.75). Valentina Fakrogha was the victor on the women's side, recording her second-highest jump of the year at 1.74m (5-8.5).
Cade Sommers started off a dominant showing for the Bruins in the pole vault, as he won the men's competition at 4.90m (16-0.75). UCLA went on to go 1-2-3 in both the men's and women's pole vault. The women vaulters โ Katerina Adamiec was runner-up at 4.20m and Jade McDonald took third for another 1-2-3 finish โ essentially clinched the win for the Bruins in the afternoon.
Jana van Schalkwyk was in a league of her own in the women's javelin, as her winning mark of 54.40m (178-5) was nearly 20 meters longer than anyone else in the field.
Sydney Johnson gave the UCLA women one final win late in the meet, as she was the only entrant to clear six meters in the long jump at 6.22m (20-5). That was her longest wind-legal jump of the year.
Players Mentioned
