The setting stays the same.
But the stakes never fade.
The crosstown rivalry returns as UCLA track and field heads south for a matchup against USC on Saturday and Sunday, pitting pride and tradition above all else in one of the sport’s most consistent head-to-head clashes.

This post was updated April 21 at 10:26 p.m.
Track events often receive the glamour and fandom.
But it is the field events that make the sport what it is.

Competitions give athletes a sense of purpose.
And for many young athletes, that feeling is amplified when they are given the opportunity to compete alongside the best of the best.

The runway is empty.
The engines have withdrawn.
The wheels have dropped.
And the Bruins finally made a stop at home.
After 15 trips around the nation, the team competed at the Rafer Johnson/Jackie Joyner-Kersee Invitational at Drake Stadium on Saturday for the last home meet this season.

This post was updated April 6 at 8:05 p.m.
Divide and conquer.
A strategy, a mindset and a common approach well-expressed by the Bruins.
UCLA track and field split its team between the Battle on the Bayou in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the Stanford Invite in Stanford, California, where the squad faced familiar competitors from programs that include USC, Arizona and UC Santa Barbara on Friday and Saturday.

Homecomings often elicit a wide range of emotions.
And Gabriel Clement II said he is embracing them all.
He is heading home.
The junior sprinter will compete less than 100 miles away from his hometown of Kaplan, Louisiana, on Friday and Saturday at the Battle on the Bayou in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where his family will cheer him on.

Home is not always on the schedule for college athletes.
But for one Bruin, this weekend’s meet will offer exactly that.
UCLA track and field will divide its roster across two competitions, sending nine distance runners to compete at the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, California while sprinters and field athletes will head to compete in the Battle on the Bayou meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.