June 23, 2005

LOS ANGELES--USC's junior high jump star Jesse Williams was named yesterday as the Pac-10 Conference Men's Field Athlete of the Year, according to Pac-10 Commissioner Tom Hansen.

Williams won both the 2005 NCAA and Pac-10 titles in the high jump, with his clearance of 7-6 (2.29m) at the NCAA Championships establishing a USC record. The Raleigh, N.C. native jumped 7-5 3/4 (2.28m) to win the event in the Pac-10 Championships, which tied the meet record which had stood for 18 years.

Williams, who also won the 2005 NCAA Indoor high jump title with a jump of 7-5 (2.26m) on March 12, becomes the first Trojan to win both the indoor and outdoor high jump titles in the same season.

The honors were decided by a vote of the Pac-10 Conference's track and field coaches. The 2005 season is the first time the Pac-10 has separated the top honors into a Men's Track Athlete of the Year and a Men's Field Athlete of the Year. USC has had a Pac-10 record eight other Men's Track and Field Athlete of the Year award winners: Ken Randle (1976), Clancy Edwards (1977, 1978), James Sanford (1980), Darwin Cook (1985), Quincy Watts (1992), Jerome Davis (1999) and Ryan Wilson (2003).