Ben Aragon blew out the candles on USC a year ago when he
clinched UCLA’s one-point victory with a third-place finish
in the 5000-meter.
Saturday, Aragon will try to repeat that success so he can
celebrate not only his 21st birthday, but a Bruin victory over
crosstown rival USC.
“It would be extra special to win on my birthday,”
Aragon said. “But it’s about the team. I’m pretty
confident about it because last year we were underdogs. This year
we are a lot more confident, stronger overall, tighter
overall.”
In the 70th anniversary of the dual meet between UCLA and USC,
held this year at Drake Stadium, Aragon and the rest of the No. 21
men’s track and field team will once again face off against a
Trojan squad looking to avenge two straight losses.
“Last year we were in a position to have a very big
opportunity to impact the outcome,” distance coach Eric
Peterson said of his squad’s end-of-the-day heroics.
“This year we may not have that same opportunity.”
UCLA’s dominance of the distance events will be hard to
repeat this year due to the improvement of the Trojan distance
squad. An improved Bruin sprint core will help lift some of the
pressure off the distance runners.
Sophomore Tomasz Babiskiewicz comes to Drake with a nationally
ranked time in the 1500m and a greater understanding of the fierce
rivalry between the two programs. But the opportunity to race
against him only excites Aragon and his teammate Jon Rankin.
“It makes a difference when you have better
competition,” Aragon said. “It’s going to be a
good race between him, Rankin and me, but we’re a lot
stronger than him.”
Another intriguing matchup will be in the long jump, where UCLA
All-American Juaune Armon will face Allen Simms. Last year, Armon
won the event, but this season Simms has a better jump by two
inches.
The Bruins will also be looking to score well in the throws,
pole vault and sprints. Senior shot putter Dan Ames holds a 6-foot
advantage over the Trojan’s top thrower, and vaulter Yoo Kim
has always had successful meets against USC.
“This is my last chance to make a mark as a Bruin in the
rivalry,” Ames said.
For the sprinting core, standout Craig Everhart has had a
breakout season, and heralded freshman Brandon Johnson returned
from an injury last week with a dominating performance in the 400m
hurdles. Those two will be looking to unhinge the always-strong
Trojan sprint squad.
The Bruin team, which enters Saturday’s competition as
slight favorites, knows nothing is certain in this meet.
“It’s the USC dual meet,” Aragon said.
“You never know what’s going to happen.”