USC Turns to Sumner to Help Re-Establish Proud Track Tradition

After nearly two decades as a business manager and controller for law firms and management houses, Hilliard Sumner is looking forward to a new career as an assistant track coach at USC.

“It’s an exciting opportunity for me,” Sumner said. “This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’m really looking forward to working with this group of freshmen for the next four years.”

Sumner, a co-coach of the West Valley Eagles Track Club last summer, the sprint coach at Taft High this past season and the current president of the Win America Track and Athletics Club, was named Trojan sprint coach Tuesday.

Sumner also will be the flexibility and conditioning coach for the USC football team.

The 42-year-old native of Philadelphia says he thrives on challenges, and he will receive plenty of those at USC. His first task will be to help Coach Ernie Bullard rebuild a once-dominant track program that has fallen on hard times in the past decade.

USC has won 25 NCAA team track titles but none since 1976. Powered by Clancy Edwards, Billy Mullins and James Sanford, USC won the national championship in 1978 but later was stripped of the title for using ineligible athletes.

Though Sumner’s task will not be easy, he will have plenty of talent with which to work. The Trojans had an outstanding recruiting year, especially with sprinters. Quincy Watts, Travis Hannah and Tony Miller all have committed to USC.

Watts won three state sprint titles during his career at Taft High and Hannah led Hawthorne to consecutive state titles in his junior and senior seasons and won the 400 at this year’s state meet.

Miller, a graduate of Riordan High in San Francisco, was hampered by a stress fracture this season but placed fourth in the 200 and fifth in the 100 at the 1987 state meet in Sacramento.

“I think we’ll be competitive, even as freshmen,” Sumner said. “But I don’t expect to be really strong until their sophomore years. We’ve got the potential for some superb relay teams in two years.”

Watts echoed Sumner’s sentiments.

“Our first year is going to be a big learning experience,” he said. “There’s going to be a big change between high school and college. But after the first year, we’ll get the jitters and bugs out of us and we’ll be relaxed and confident.”