USC Track and Field donors were invited to the Colich Track & Field Center Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. My husband Jim and I arrived right on time. Trojan Candy saw the Spirit of Troy Pep Band first. Naturally, I took their picture.
Here is Athletic Director Mike Bohn posing with Architect Joe Antunovich.
Next, Trojan Candy saw a familiar face. Anna Cockrell smiled her beautiful smile for me. Then, I was able to interview her for just a few minutes. Anna told me that she is in the process of moving to another apartment. 
She said that she is taking September off from track practice and competition because the Pac-12 Championship, the NCAA Championship, and the Olympics wore her out. She needs some time to recuperate. More personally, Anna is majoring in Public Policy. Her favorite breakfast foods are pancakes and French toast. Anna loves to bake, read, and sing. Anna sang the "Star Spangle Banner" at the Pac-12 Championships, but now, she told me, she wants to sing “Just for myself.” Thanks for the interview and FIGHT ON, Anna!-
Nearby was another familiar face. Alitta Boyd (3/11/2010) was standing with USC Track alumnus Earl Patterson. Trojan Candy interviewed Alitta in Heritage Hall in March 2010. Click her name to read the interview. As for the present, Alitta told me that she is working as a Senior Project Manager for an Oakland non-profit company. She helps Oakland High School to get support. KEEP FIGHTING ON, Alitta!
As I turned around, Trojan Candy saw another familiar face. John Colich is a fellow USC 1968 graduate, and he and his wife Janine are the major donors for the Colich Track & Field Center. They smiled for my picture, and you can click the following dates to see three more pictures/blogs of them. (3/5/2016), (4/12/2016), and (4/28/2019).
Then, Trojan Candy took this picture of my good friend Sandy Johnston, my sister Patti, and USC track alumnus Gerald Hardeman.
Right after I took this picture, Gerald’s good friend, former USC teammate, and roommate Michael Johnson joined us. Gerald, a long jumper in 1973-1977, told me that he helped USC to win the 1976 NCAA Championship in Track and Field. Michael Johnson, a two time Olympian in the hurdles, told me, “We (Gerald and Michael) beat UCLA in our Senior year.”
The two teammates showed me their NCAA Championship rings. FIGHT ON, Gerald! FIGHT ON, Michael!
Sandy Johnston introduced me to her friends and fellow Spirit of Troy donors, the Steve Sourapas family. Friend Cathy Creasia joined in the picture. Sitting was Steve Sourapas with Sandy Johnston leaning on his shoulder. Standing from left to right were Christian and Steven Sourapas and Cathy Creasia.
As I turned towards the stairs, Trojan Candy saw another familiar face. Someone I met when I volunteered at Heritage Hall. It was so nice to see Coach Ken Matsuda (5/14/2009) again. Click his name to read his interview.
Now, it was time for the dedication ceremony to begin. USC Athletic Director Mike Bohn welcomed the Spirit of Troy, donors, alumni, current USC track and field athletes, and USC staff. He also acknowledged Anna Cockrell, Isaiah Jewett, and Quincy Watts. A.D. Bohn stressed that USC is “Tradition, Innovation, and Striving for Excellence in everything that we do.
Trojan Candy saw some fellow USC TGLA members and gathered them for a photo. Unfortunately, my flash was still messing up, so I took this picture of my friends without a flash. From left to right are Patti Poon, Sandy Johnston, Christine Ofiesh, and D’Arcy McLeod.
I decided to take a picture of the plaque commemorating the Colich Track & Field Center. Then I asked President Carol Folt to pose with the sign.
Trojan Candy saw another familiar face. Former USC Track and Field coach Ron Allice, who knew I lived in Cerritos, asked me when the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts (CCPA) was going to open again. I couldn’t give him an answer. My husband Jim and I have volunteered at the CCPA for twenty-seven years. Another new person in the picture is Treani Swain. Trojan Candy found out that Treani ran the 400m and 800m in high school. From left to right are my sister Patti Poon, Treani Swain, Ron Allice, Cathy Creasia, and Sandy Johnston.
I saw that he was standing by himself for a few seconds, so I literally ran over to him. Trojan Candy asked Isaiah Jewett if he remembered that I had taken a picture of him and his mother at the Pac-12 Track and Field Championship on May 16, 2021. Isaiah did remember with a smile. I interviewed him as quickly as I could because other people wanted to meet and talk with him. For hobbies, Isaiah said, “Animation!” He likes to play anime' and his other favorite sport is volleyball. Isaiah, like Anna, is taking time off after the Olympics. He too is worn out. He told me that he wants to compete in the 2024 Olympics in Paris. KEEP FIGHTING ON, Isaiah!
My sister Pat and brother-in-law Dudley Poon posed with my friend Michael Norman. Yeah! My flash worked.
Since Trojan Candy had interviewed one of the student athlete speakers, Isaiah Jewett, then I wanted to interview the other student athlete speaker, Jemima Russell. I walked up to her and asked to take her picture and interview her. She smiled....then we started. Jemima is from Victoria, Australia. She is a Senior majoring in Accounting. When she visited USC, she “fell in love with the coaches and the culture.” In the spring, Jemima runs in the 880 meters and runs cross-country in the fall. Her hobbies are shopping, going to the beach, and surfing. Jemima’s favorite food is fruit salad. FIGHT ON, Jemima!
Trojan Candy saw some more friends at the stairs. They posed for this picture. They were Ray Wong, ?, Jerry Ensom, Earl Patterson, and Sandy Johnston.
Trojan Candy finally walked up the stairs to enter the Colich Track & Field Center. These two posters in the lobby caught my attention immediately.
Then, I walked outside to the reception at the track field side of the Center. It was a very hot day, but I was able to find a table with an umbrella. Dudley told me that retired USC Beach Volleyball Coach Anna Collier was visiting our friend Ray Wong. Pat, Dudley and I went over to visit her. Everyone smiled for this picture.
Back at our table, my husband Jim introduced me to Rae-Anne Serville. She is a sophomore from Trinidad. She competes in the 400m. She is majoring in Health and Human Science. More personally, Rae-Anne plays steel band. She is active in GlobeMed at USC. GlobeMed is a national, 100% student-run nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering students in the movement for global health equity. My last question for Rae-Anne was “What is your favorite food?” Rae-Anne said that she is not picky. She likes macaroni pie and bake’n shark. FIGHT ON, Rae-Anne!
Trojan Candy met three relatives of John Colich at a nearby table. They were Lorraine Colich, John Zaas, and Cathy Colich. John is Lorraine’s nephew.
Then, another familiar face walked up to say, "Hello." He was Bill Bau. Trojan Candy met Bill in 2014 at a Women of Troy Rowing competition vs. UCLA. Our USC Rowers beat the Bruins.
Trojan Candy met several new Trojans today. I met Russ Reabold, who sends out the “Trojan Force” newsletter regularly to USC Track and Field supporters like Jim and me. I also met Cheryl and Bill Semple, who are mutual friends of Ron Allice. 
Then I saw an old friend, Mike Donovan III, who is the President of the Trojan Coaches Club.
Now it was time to finish my tour of the building. Patti, Dudley and I walked back into the Colich Track and Field Center. It was so cold inside because of the air conditioning. That is where I saw Isaiah Jewett and Anna Cockrell posing with USC alumnus Jeff Williams. I snapped my picture of them very quickly.
Then, Anna, Isaiah, and Jeff posed with a larger group. Naturally, Trojan Candy scurried backwards to take my picture from a wider angle. From left to right in the picture were second from the left, Patty Van Wolvelaere, who was the first woman who was awarded a track scholarship at USC in 1975, who ran the 100m hurdles in 1975-1978, and is a member of the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame; Isaiah Jewett; Barbara (Ferrell) Edmonson, who was the first woman head coach at USC in 1992, and who won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 4x100m relay and a Silver Medal in the 100m in Mexico City in 1968; Jeff Williams who coaches in Beverly Hills now and competed in the 100m and 200m at USC in 1996; Anna Cockrell; and Wanet Chan, who ran the 100m hurdles at USC in 1993-1996, and tied the school record in the 4X100 in Milan. What a fantastic picture of so many USC GREATS! FIGHT ON, Patty! FIGHT ON, Barbara! FIGHT ON, Jeff! FIGHT ON, Wanet!
On the other side of the wall, Trojan Candy took this video of more USC Olympians.
My friend Sandy Johnston and I were touring in Head Coach Quincy Watts’ office when he came in to say hello. Trojan Candy took this picture of Sandy and Coach Quincy.
What a fantastic day for USC Track and Field!
It was so great to be back at the Coliseum to see our USC Football Team play a game against the San Jose State Spartans. The last time Trojan Candy was at the Coliseum was Saturday, November 23, 2019. We beat the Bruins 52-35! Today, the weather was HOT!
So my husband Jim and I entered the Coliseum as soon as the gates opened. Luckily, our seats on Row 38 are right up against the cement wall and in the shadow of the Scholarship Club Tower. Trojan Candy took this video of USC and San Jose State players warming up. Yes, you heard me say it, “Reggie Bush’s Heisman tarp deserves to be displayed with our other Heisman winners!”
At 11:42 of the fourth quarter, Senior Greg Johnson intercepted the ball so fast at the San Jose 37 yard line, Trojan Candy just watched him run to the end zone. I didn’t even think to videorecord his play. A professional camera woman, I am not!
After the game ended, our team shook hands with the Spartans, walked over to the Spirit of Troy, and Greg Johnson conducted the Spirit of Troy in Conquest.
FIGHT ON, USC Football!