May 30, 2001

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It was a bittersweet day for the Trojans, as senior Dennis Kholev won Troy's 107th NCAA individual men's title with a gallant performance in the pole vault, but the men's 400-meter relay dropped the baton on its second handoff and failed to advance. USC still has potential for its eighth straight top 10 finish, as standouts Norbert Horvath, Djeke Mambo and Dawid Jaworski have yet to compete.

Field Finals--
Pole Vault: Senior pole vaulter Dennis Kholev won USC's 107th NCAA individual men's title (by far the most of any school) by soaring to a personal best and school record 18-6 ¸. Kholev becomes the 17th Trojan to win the pole vault title and the first since Dave Kenworthy did it in 1982. With the win, Kholev also completes a rare trifecta: a win at the USC-UCLA dual meet, the Pac-10 championship and now the NCAA title. Kholev, who is now tied for sixth on the all-time Pac-10 pole vault list, also made three attempts to break the Pac-10 record at 18-10 ¸ to no avail.

Kholev on the win: "I was feeling the pressure, but I also knew that this was my senior year and my last chance to win it. I told myself that there was no way I was going to settle for second. It was that simple. I really made myself believe that it was possible. I believe that it (the winning jump) was the best jump of my career. I really wanted to break the Pac-10 record, too. This is all going to take a couple of days to sink in."

Track Prelims-
400-meter relay: The Pac-10 champion USC squad of junior Devon Ward, senior Andre Ammons, sophomore Darrell Rideaux and junior Sultan McCullough failed to advance to the finals of the 400-meter relay after dropping the baton on the second exchange between Ammons and Rideaux.

800-meter run: Junior Kevin Elliot finished fifth in heat three with a time of 1:49.66 and did not advance to the finals of the men's 800-meter run.

Looking ahead to Thursday for the USC men-

Hammer-Senior two-time All-American and three-time Pac-10 champion Norbert Horvath will compete for the Trojans in the finals of the mens' hammer. Horvath has the nation's third longest throw coming into the meet.

High Jump-Freshman Dawid Jaworski, who is second on the all-time USC high jump list, will compete in the finals of the men's high jump.

110-meter hurdles-Sophomore Ryan Wilson, who has a best of 13.69, will compete in the prelims of the men's high hurdles.

400-meter dash-Senior Andre Ammons competes in the semifinals of the men's 400-meter dash.

100-meter dash-Junior Devon Ward competes in the prelims of the men's 100-meter dash.