Bryshon Nellum is back.
The USC senior, who had a major setback at the beginning of his collegiate career after suffering a gunshot wound, is regaining the stride that made him the top high school track and field athlete in the nation in the 200 and 400 meters coming out of Long Beach Poly High School in 2007.
Earlier this season, he ran the 400 in 45.18 seconds, the fastest time in the nation.
Just a shade off of that time, Nellum ran a 45.20 on Sunday to win the conference title in the 400 at the Pac-12 Track & Field Championships at Eugene, Ore.
The meet will be televised on Prime Ticket at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
"It is such a blessing just to have this victory," Nellum said. "I've been through a lot and was able to overcome. I just thank God."
Oregon swept the team titles, scoring 140 points on the men's side and 200.5 on the women's.
Nellum's teammate Aaron Brown won the men's 100 meters with a wind-legal personal record of 10.18. It marks the sixth time in the past eight years that a Trojans sprinter has won the conference title in the men's 100.
Despite Nellum and Brown's individual titles, USC director of track and field, Ron Allice was "disappointed" with the team's performance. The Trojans finished in seventh place with 74 points.
"I don't want to make any excuses," Allice said, "but we didn't use all of our weapons that we have on scholarship."
On the women's side, Marissa Minderler scored in three events, including a first-place finish in the hammer throw (220 feet, 11 inches).
The USC women finished in fourth place with 91 points.
The UCLA men also had two individual champions but fared better than their Southern California counterparts. The Bruins finished fourth, tallying 86 points. Alec Faldermeyer won the hammer (219-9). Matthew Kosecki won the discus (193-8).
The Bruins women finished in eighth place with 46.5 points and didn't claim any individual titles.
Turquoise Thompson finished second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.26. Alexis Walker posted a second-place finish in the high jump with a clearance of 5-10.75.
