By Shawn Medow
USC triple jumpers Eric Sloan and Dominic Smallwood are called “Dumb and Dumber” by their friends and teammates. The two live next door to each other, and along with high jumper Randall Cunningham, they make up what they call “jump squad.” They train together and compete against one another frequently.
But, that sense of competitiveness was not evident during the Pac-12 championships Sunday at Hayward Field as each celebrated the other’s jumps, even if it bested their own.
“I told him that if he didn’t beat me, I was gonna be mad at him,” Smallwood said.
Sloan won the title with a jump of 52 feet, 6 inches, and Smallwood finished second at 51-8 1/2 inches. On the final jump, Smallwood took the lead ahead of Sloan, who had led since the third jump, but Sloan won it all on his final leap.
“Right before I jumped, coach Caryl (Smith Gilbert) came over,” Smallwood said. “She told me to relax and just do what coach told me to do.”
“I didn’t know it was beating him, but I knew it was a decent jump,” Sloan said. “I knew he jumped big, so I got hyped up and knew I had to jump big too. I just let out the emotion.”
The plan was for the two Trojans to come first and second, and the pair did just that.
“It was great to do what we said we were going to do— it means everything,” Sloan said. “I’m definitely excited that we were able to step it up whether he went one or I went (one). Whatever the case may be, I’m glad we went 1-2.”
Smallwood’s personal record jump gave Sloan the push he needed to attack the landing pit.
“When he jumped 51-8, it got me hyped up,” Sloan said. “Whatever it was— if it was 50—I would have been pumped up.”
The two will compete in regionals and then again at NCAAs in Eugene. In regionals, unlike at the Pac-12 championships, the jumpers are only allowed three jumps rather than six, which can be the difference between first and last.
“Sometimes we don’t really warm up until the later jumps, so if you go in flat it gives you some times to pick it up and get some energy going,” Sloan said. “When you have three, you’ve got to be there right away.”
