Madison Whyte Wins 200/400 Double And Help USC Win 4x400 To Close Out The Meet, Preventing Oregon From A Big Ten Triple Crown

By Lori Shontz for DyeStat 

Keenan Gray photo

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EUGENE — When USC sprinter Madison Whyte lined up for her events Sunday at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, she felt like she was at practice.

That wasn’t a psychological trick designed to reduce the pressure of competing for a championship. That was the truth.

In the 200, half the field, including Whyte, was wearing a USC kit. In the 400, she was one of three USC finalists. And in the 100 meters, USC accounted for five of the nine runners.

“We always battle each other in practice,” Whyte said. “This isn’t anything different. We can just go back to what we’ve always been doing.”

That sprinting depth led the Trojans to the team championship in their first year in the Big Ten Conference. The top of the leaderboard had a decidedly Pac-12 flavor, with USC beating Oregon at Hayward Field, 121-113.

Oregon had a two-point lead going into the final event, the 4x400 relay, thanks to its typical strong performances in the middle distance and distance events plus a surprise 18 points when Ryann Porter and Cassandra Atkins went 1-2 finish in the triple jump, both with personal bests.

But that wasn’t enough to beat USC, which ran 3:30.16 for the 4x400 victory and the team title. Oregon, which ran in the first heat, finished eighth.

The relay victory capped a dominant day for USC sprinters, who scored 80 of its points in just three events: Thirty points in the 100. Twenty-nine in the 200. Twenty-one in the 400. The Trojans also won the 4x100, and they added another six points in the 100 hurdles.

“The women just competed at another level,” USC coach Quincy Watts in a unversity release. “They have great character, and they rose to the challenge.”

In the other 15 individual events, they scored a total of 15 points.

Whyte started things off individually with a victory in the 400, running 51.40 to beat her teammate, Yemi John, who ran 51.54. Christine Mallard finished sixth in 53.61.

Samirah Moody won the 100 in 11.13, followed by teammates Dajaz DeFrand and Jassani Carter, who finished in 11.18 and were separated by only .008. Freshman Brianna Selby finished fifth in 11.33

And then came the 200, the capper. Whyte ran 22.66 to lead a pack of four USC women across the finish line. Moody and DeFrank and Carter all finished in 22.79, with Moody getting the edge over DeFrank by .003 and DeFrank getting the edge over Carter by .002.

The Trojans started the day in ninth place; Oregon started the day in fourth.

The Ducks had hoped to go 1-2 in the 1,500 meters, but Washington’s Sonia O’Sullivan controlled the race throughout, leading a sluggish procession until the last lap where she picked her spot to start sprinting. She won in 4:11.66, closing in 58.4 seconds. Oregon’s Silan Ayyildiz and Mia Barnett settled for 2-3.

“I kind of expected someone to go like fairly hard from 600 to 800 out, because that tends to be the move for the Oregon girls, but I think they kind of left it too late, which I was quite happy about,” O’Sullivan said. “I was quite happy to just jog about.”

The Ducks got 10 more points in the 100 hurdles when Aalyiah McCormick broke the 13-second barrier for the second time in two days, taking the victory with a season best 12.86. And then they got 10 more points from Klaudia Kazimierska, who cruised in 2:02.92.

Ayyildiz, who was unhappy that she hadn’t gone to the front sooner in the 1,500, came back in the 5,000 and broke the meet record in 15:37.11. She said she was inspired by teammate Simeon Birnbaum, who had finished third in the 1,500, then came back to win the 5,000.

“If he can do it, I can do it on the last lap also,” she said. “I have speed.”

The Ducks also finished sixth and seventh in the 5,000 for a total of 15 team points in the event. But they didn’t put Oregon far enough ahead.

The top field performance of the day came from Washington sophomore pole vaulter Amanda Moll, who set a meet record and outdoor personal best of 15-8.25 (4.78m) despite chilly and windy conditions.

Moll missed her first two attempts at three heights: 14-0.25, 14-8.25 and the winning height.

“I had quite a few third attempt clearances, which is part of the sport,” she said. “They’re not fun because they’re very nerve wracking, but they’re worth it.”

Moll's clearance at 4.78 meters is a collegiate record in the outdoor vault. She has gone higher, 4.91m, indoors.  

Nebraska picked up two field victories: senior Maddie Harris, who redshirted last season and competed unattached to try to raise her world ranking, won the javelin on her first throw of 191-6 (58.38m), and Jenna Rogers won the high jump at 6-0.25, completing her sweep after winning the conference indoor title in March.

“I won two my freshman year, and after that I lost a couple,” Rogers said. “And after that I was like I’m never take for granted winning a Big Ten champion again. I won the last two, and each time it feels better and better.”

Abria Smith of Illinois won the shot put on her first throw of 58-10.75, and Savannah Sutherland of Michigan won her third consecutive conference 400 hurdles title in 55.37.