June 13, 2002

Junior All-American triple jumper Julien Kapek has been named the 2002 Pac-10 Men's Track and Field Newcomer of the Year, the conference announced.

Kapek, who came to USC mid-year from Houilles, France, had an incredible debut season. He broke the 27-year-old Trojan triple jump record in his first home meet with a jump of 55-2 3/4, then extended it to 55-8 1/2 at the Mt. Sac Relays (third-best in Pac-10 history and eighth-best in the world so far in 2002).

He won the triple jump at the USC-UCLA dual meet, then went on to win the Pac-10 triple jump title, before finishing third at the NCAAs--the highest finish by a Trojan triple jumper at the NCAAs since 1976.

Kapek also long jumped a team-best 24-7.