VICTORY WAS WITHIN reach. USC had a chance to win it: all they needed was to score one spot higher than their 7th-in the climactic 4×4.
Texas A&M had a chance to win it: if only Auhmad Robinson had held on to that lead he grabbed in the final 50m of that final relay.
Of course, there are always several ways a team could score more (or fewer) points in any given championship. Three (also including Arkansas), had a good chance to win entering the grand finale, with the Trojans at 40, the Hogs 34 and Aggies 33.
When the dust cleared on South Florida’s 4×4 victory, as the Bulls’ Gabriel Moronta overtook Robinson in the final meters, it was USC and A&M each with 41 and Arkansas with 40. Auburn in 4th with 35 and a 4×1 victory to their name, did not qualify for the meet in the 4×4.
So there was A&M’s legendary 73-year-old Pat Henry standing next to USC’s 55-year-old Quincy Watts, sharing top honors. “If you’ve got to tie somebody, I don’t mind tying Quincy,” Henry quipped. “Many years ago, I had teams running against him when he was an athlete.”
Watts was an athlete to remember. After all, he set notable MRs in the 400 back in 1992, his senior season at USC — first the NCAA standard and later that summer the Olympic Record when he won gold in Barcelona.
Neither coach seemed too disappointed, despite victory being in their grasp and slipping away. After all, they knew what it took just to be in contention. It was no mean feat that they ended up there in the first place.
USC won the indoor title, yet T&FN projected them 8th here (28 points) after some late-season struggles and injury issues. Our previous formchart, before USC lost a dual meet to UCLA and finished 4th in the Big 10, had them on top with 51.
The biggest difference was a return to form of the Trojan sprinters. Max Thomas — 5th in the first formchart, then 10th in the 2nd — qualified 2nd in his 100 semi, then nipped Jelani Watkins for 2nd in the final at 10.10, just behind Jordan Anthony. The 4×1 (including Thomas on the second leg), bounced back up to their originally projected runner-up spot with 38.46.
Watts was proud of Thomas, not just for his performances but also for his leadership. “Max is my captain,” he said. “He saw where this team could be… and made sure everybody bought in.”
In the 400, William Jones benefited from the DQ of USF’s Moronta, taking the runner-up spot with 45.53. And in the 200, Garrett Kaalund (projected 4th, then 2nd) was 3rd in 19.96 and Thomas 6th in 20.23 for 9 big points.
On the downside, USC only scored 5 in the field events, including nothing in the jumps as projected LJ runner-up JC Stevenson didn’t make the final. However, the 4th in the discus by previously injured Racquil Broderick on his fifth throw was a big early boost.
A&M, on the other hand, had risen from a projected 2nd on the earlier formchart to winning in the final premeet analysis — and with 44, within 3 of their eventual total. Ironically, the last time A&M was atop the podium, in ’13, they also shared it (with Florida).
The biggest guns for the Aggies came through. Favorite Sam Whitmarsh took the 800 with 1:45.86. Aleksandr Solovev, tabbed for 2nd, won the vault at 18-11½ (5.78). Projected points were lost in the 400 and in the 110H — the latter due to a false start in the semis by Ja’Qualon Scott.
“We knew we had to make that up,” said Henry, who coached his 37th national title, including his years at LSU. “Then the next event, we qualify two instead of one in the 400H [including Scott and Bryce McCray, who would finish 2-6]. That one finish made a big difference in the track meet. I’m pleased with JQ.”
Watts spoke fondly of how Kaalund and Broderick worked through recent injuries. The last time USC won/shared an outdoor men’s title — not counting a vacated crown in ’78, was ’76, but he said, “We try not to look at how long it’s been, just try and be relevant right now. It’s been a tremendous commitment from our coaching staff and student-athletes.”
MEN’S TEAM SCORES
=1. Texas A&M 41;
=1. USC 41;
3. Arkansas 40;
4. Auburn 35;
5. New Mexico 31;
6. Oklahoma 30½;
7. Minnesota 25;
=8. Florida 22;
=8. Kentucky 22;
=8. Ole Miss 22;
11. tie, BYU, Oklahoma State & Oregon 19; 14. tie, South Florida & Tennessee 18; 16. Kansas 16½; 17. tie, Texas Tech & North Carolina 16; 19. tie, Houston & Wisconsin 15; 21. tie, Baylor & Texas State 14; 23. tie, Alabama, Louisville, Mississippi State, South Carolina & Virginia Tech 13; 28. LSU 11⅓; 29. Iowa 11;
30. tie, Iowa State, Kansas State, Washington & Miami 10; 34. Texas 9; 35. tie, Nebraska & Duke 8½; 37. tie, Arizona, Cal Poly, Cal, UCSB & Furman 8; 42. tie, Arkansas State & Princeton 7; 44. Illinois 6½; 45. Georgia 6⅓; 46. tie, Arkansas–Pine Bluff, Missouri, Florida State, Harvard & Villanova 6; 51. tie, Air Force, Cal Baptist & UCLA 5;
54. tie, Tarleton State, Washington State, Virginia & Wake Forest 4; 58. tie, Arizona State, Bradley, DePaul, Northern Arizona, Portland & NC State 3; 64. Rutgers 2½; 65. Wyoming 2; 66. tie, Montana State, Cincinnati, Cornell, Davidson, Louisiana–Monroe & UMass Lowell 1; 72. Penn ⅓.
