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Thrilling USC women's NCAA Championship caps Pac-12 Track & Field season

Jun 14, 2018

COMPLETE RELEASE (PDF) | 2018 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

2018 PAC-12 TRACK & FIELD - WOMEN'S REVIEW

The USC women’s track & field team posted a dramatic victory in claiming the NCAA outdoor championship on June 9. Needing a victory in the 4x400-meter relay finale to win the national title, Trojans’ senior Kendall Ellis erased a 20-meter deficit over the final 100 meters of the anchor leg to beat Purdue to the tape and score the 10 points necessary to narrowly edge Georgia for the team title.

The championship was the second all-time for the USC women and ninth overall for Pac-12 women’s programs, including the second straight, third in the last four years and sixth since 2001.

STANFORD placed third, just two points shy of USC in the closest top-three finish in Championship history, to equal its best NCAA finish in program history. The Cardinal - who also finished fourth at NCAA Cross Country and eighth at the NCAA Indoor Championships - was named the Terry Crawford Women’s National Program of the Year by the USTFCCCA, ahead of league rival and runner-up OREGON. It marked the 10th consecutive year a Pac-12 program earned USTFCCCA national program of the year distinction.

2018 NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
WOMEN’S TEAM RESULTS (Top 3 and Pac-12 scorers only)
1. USC - 53
2. Georgia - 52
3. Stanford - 51
7. OREGON - 39
9. ARIZONA STATE - 22
T14. UCLA - 18
T37. COLORADO - 6
T44. WASHINGTON - 4
T46. WASHINGTON STATE - 3
T46. UTAH - 3

Pac-12 women athletes racked up 51 First Team All-America honors, highlighted by six event national champions, including two for Bowerman semifinalist and USTFCCCA Co-Field Athlete of the Year Maggie Ewen.

WOMEN’S NCAA EVENT NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
200-meter dash: Angelerne Annelus, USC
1,500-meter run: Jessica Hull, OREGON
4x400-meter relay: USC
Shot put: Maggie Ewen, ARIZONA STATE
Discus: Maggie Ewen, ARIZONA STATE
Javelin: Mackenzie Little, STANFORD

Two all-time Pac-12 records were set in 2018, coming in a pair of field events:
Shot put: Maggie Ewen, ASU (19.46m)
Javelin: Mackenzie Little, STANFORD (60.36m)

All totaled, 40 all-time top-10 Conference performances were recorded during the 2018 season.

AWARD WINNERS/NOMINEES

USTFCCCA The Bowerman semifinalists (2 of 10): Maggie Ewen, ARIZONA STATE; Kendall Ellis, USC

USTFCCCA National Women’s Co-Field Athlete of the Year: Maggie Ewen, ARIZONA STATE
USTFCCCA National Women’s Coach of the Year: Caryl Smith Gilbert, USC
USTFCCCA National Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year: Zeb Sion, STANFORD

USTFCCCA West Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year: Kendall Ellis, USC
USTFCCCA West Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year: Maggie Ewen, ARIZONA STATE
USTFCCCA West Region Women’s Coach of the Year: Caryl Smith Gilbert, USC
USTFCCCA West Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year: Joanna Hayes, USC

Pac-12 Women's Track Athlete of the Year: Kendall Ellis, USC
Pac-12 Women's Field Athlete of the Year: Maggie Ewen, ARIZONA STATE
Pac-12 Women's Freshman of the Year: Twanisha Terry, USC
Pac-12 Women's Coach of the Year: Caryl Smith Gilbert, USC

2018 PAC-12 TRACK & FIELD - MEN'S REVIEW

While the OREGON men maintained their dominance over the Pac-12 Championship, it was the USC men who capped the 2018 campaign with the best Conference finish at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

USC posted its first trophy finish at the NCAA outdoor championship since 2014, placing fourth with 34 points to lead the Pac-12 at the national meet. STANFORD tied for eighth, its best showing since placing sixth in 2011, to finish third in the USTFCCCA Program of the Year standings behind winner Alabama and runner-up Arkansas. Oregon, which extended its record Pac-12 men’s title streak to 12 consecutive years, tied for 35th at the NCAA meet.

2018 NCAA OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS
MEN’S TEAM RESULTS (Top 3 and Pac-12 scorers only)
1. Georgia - 52
2. Florida - 42
3. Houston - 35
4. USC - 34
T8. STANFORD - 28
T35. OREGON - 8
T43. ARIZONA - 6
T49. WASHINGTON - 4
T66. UCLA - 1

Four event national titles were won by Pac-12 athletes or relay teams, extending the league’s streak of at least one event champion at the NCAA meet to 59 consecutive years dating to 1960. Additionally, two all-time Pac-12 records and a trio of collegiate records were set, all by USC in winning event titles at the NCAA Championship:

MEN’S NCAA EVENT NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
400-meter dash: Michael Norman, USC (43.61, collegiate record)
5,000-meter run: Sean McGorty, STANFORD
400-meter hurdles: Rai Benjamin, USC (47.02, Pac-12 & collegiate record)
4x400-meter relay: USC (2:59.00, Pac-12 & collegiate record)

All totaled, seven all-time top-10 Conference performances were recorded during the 2018 season.

Athletes from the Pac-12 amassed 22 First Team All-America accolades, highlighted by two honors for USC’s pair of Bowerman semifinalists Norman and Benjamin.

Paced by Stanford’s third-place finish, three Pac-12 teams appeared in the USTFCCCA National Program of the Year standings along with No. 7 Oregon and No. 13 Washington.

AWARD WINNERS/NOMINEES

USTFCCCA The Bowerman semifinalists (2 of 10): Rai Benjamin, USC; Michael Norman, USC

USTFCCCA National Men's Track Athlete of the Year: Michael Norman, USC
USTFCCCA National Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year: Quincy Watts, USC

USTFCCCA West Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year: Michael Norman, USC
USTFCCCA West Region Men's Field Athlete of the Year: Jordan Geist, ARIZONA
USTFCCCA West Region Men’s Coach of the Year: Robert Johnson, OREGON
USTFCCCA West Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year: Quincy Watts, USC

Pac-12 Men's Track Athlete of the Year: Michael Norman, USC
Pac-12 Men's Field Athlete of the Year: Damarcus Simpson, OREGON
Pac-12 Men's Freshman of the Year: Jordan Geist, ARIZONA
Pac-12 Men's Coach of the Year: Robert Johnson, OREGON