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Ben Aragon will look to lead the Bruins to victory Saturday.

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Ben Aragon blew out the candles on USC a year ago when he clinched UCLA’s one-point victory with a third-place finish in the 5000-meter.

Saturday, Aragon will try to repeat that success so he can celebrate not only his 21st birthday, but a Bruin victory over crosstown rival USC.

“It would be extra special to win on my birthday,” Aragon said. “But it’s about the team. I’m pretty confident about it because last year we were underdogs. This year we are a lot more confident, stronger overall, tighter overall.”

In the 70th anniversary of the dual meet between UCLA and USC, held this year at Drake Stadium, Aragon and the rest of the No. 21 men’s track and field team will once again face off against a Trojan squad looking to avenge two straight losses.

“Last year we were in a position to have a very big opportunity to impact the outcome,” distance coach Eric Peterson said of his squad’s end-of-the-day heroics. “This year we may not have that same opportunity.”

UCLA’s dominance of the distance events will be hard to repeat this year due to the improvement of the Trojan distance squad. An improved Bruin sprint core will help lift some of the pressure off the distance runners.

Sophomore Tomasz Babiskiewicz comes to Drake with a nationally ranked time in the 1500m and a greater understanding of the fierce rivalry between the two programs. But the opportunity to race against him only excites Aragon and his teammate Jon Rankin.

“It makes a difference when you have better competition,” Aragon said. “It’s going to be a good race between him, Rankin and me, but we’re a lot stronger than him.”

Another intriguing matchup will be in the long jump, where UCLA All-American Juaune Armon will face Allen Simms. Last year, Armon won the event, but this season Simms has a better jump by two inches.

The Bruins will also be looking to score well in the throws, pole vault and sprints. Senior shot putter Dan Ames holds a 6-foot advantage over the Trojan’s top thrower, and vaulter Yoo Kim has always had successful meets against USC.

“This is my last chance to make a mark as a Bruin in the rivalry,” Ames said.

For the sprinting core, standout Craig Everhart has had a breakout season, and heralded freshman Brandon Johnson returned from an injury last week with a dominating performance in the 400m hurdles. Those two will be looking to unhinge the always-strong Trojan sprint squad.

The Bruin team, which enters Saturday’s competition as slight favorites, knows nothing is certain in this meet.

“It’s the USC dual meet,” Aragon said. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

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