Trey Knight’s winning throw was a personal record, giving him his first Pac-12 title after finishing fifth as a freshman. Photo by Kevin Neri
USC’s Trey Knight comes from a family of throwers. It’s ingrained in the Knight family DNA; his grandpa began the tradition with his mother and aunt, coaching them from an early age. His cousin got involved with throws, and before too long the Knight family had a star-studded trio of state champions composed of his mom, aunt, and cousin.
Knight surpassed those accomplishments in high school, elevating himself to one of the most dominant throwers in Washington state. While he added four state titles to the family legacy, he also built his own legacy, winning the Washington Gatorade Boys Athlete of the Year three times.
Saturday afternoon, a new accolade was added to the growing list of accomplishments from this throwing family — a Pac-12 title.
“I grew up seeing this stuff… it’s like the dream,” said Knight. “It’s just a really cool feeling, especially at Hayward Field.”
In his second throw of the afternoon, Knight threw 235 feet, 7 inches, establishing a new personal record. Washington’s Jayden White finished second, throwing 230-4, on his fifth heave of the day fouling every other attempt. Cal’s Ivan Moisander finished third, throwing 223-8.
A healthy number of USC fans filled the small bleacher seating arrangements for the hammer, with his family members shouting encouragement. Around 100 people lined the rail in front of the bleachers, with a gap left in the middle so that Knight’s family could watch him work, courtesy of teammate Summer Mosley, who served as crowd control. Knight appreciated the support.
“It means everything,” Knight said. “Anytime my family can come see me throw is special to me.”
Far before he won his own state titles or set national high school records, Knight was a 10-year-old who searched for any excuse to hang out with his idol — his grandpa. His grandpa, John Gamble, was a decathlete at New Mexico State and took care of Knight whenever his parents had to work.
“I know for me, I only started track to hang out with grandpa,” said Knight. “And then I ended up getting good at it.”
Knight’s parents, Beau and Heather, suspected their son’s talents from the beginning.
“It’s in the family,” Beau said.
“It’s in our blood,” Heather added.
Knight said he mostly focused on track in high school. Since his grandpa was also his trainer, a lot of time was spent away from his team. He missed the camaraderie that’s so often a given with sports so much that he played football his senior year, casually receiving all-conference honors as a defensive end and helping his team make the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
At USC, this problem is non-existent because Knight has found himself another family — the hammer crew. They drive together to the off-campus hammer facility 20 minutes away from campus to train, with Knight challenging his teammates to mini-competitions. Since there’s a weight difference for men’s and women’s hammer, his teammate, Joy McArthur, poses a serious threat to Knight, but he isn’t too keen to let her win anytime soon. The team holds each other accountable and cheers each other on.
“It’s something I didn’t have in high school,” said Knight. “Having them support me and me support them – it just makes the whole experience of track.”
