Bulls win both high jump competitions while posting its first win at the conference level in the men’s 4×400 in school history
WICHITA, Kan., May 15, 2022 – The University of South Florida track and field team earned three event championships and 10 podium finishes while also breaking a school record on the final day of the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships in Wichita. The men’s team finished in fifth place, the highest finish since the team joined the AAC, with the most points USF has scored since the AAC’s creation and the women’s team tied their second-best finish and scored their second most points since USF joined the AAC.
“What a weekend!” head coach Erik Jenkins said. “We had some ups and a few downs. However, we were able to keep pushing forward and found success. We had some very fine performances and I believe we are headed in the right direction as a program.”
Romaine Beckford (Portland, Jamaica) started the day off strong for the Bulls and completed the sweep of the indoor and outdoor high jump championships with a 2.18-meter (7-1.75) leap. Also earning points for the team in the event were Kendell Mosley (Niceville, Fla.), who finished in fourth with a 2.04-meter (6-8.25) mark, and David Ajama (Lowell, Mass.), who ended in sixth with a 1.99-meter (6-6.25) jump.
Annia Ashley (Kingston, Jamaica) gave the Bulls a sweep of the outdoor high jump championships with a 1.74-meter (5-8.5), first-place finish that moved her up to a tie for fifth on USF’s all-time performance list. Kendall McDaniel (Loganville, Ga.) finished in sixth to also earn points for USF.
USF’s third event win came in the men’s 4×400 relay, where the team of Elijah Wright (Naples, Fla.), Joshua St. Clair (Trinidad and Tobago), Michael Bourne III (Midlothian, Va.) and Monte Parker (Plantation, Fla.) finished in 3:10.46 to earn the championship and move up to sixth on USF’s all-time list.
Wright broke a school record in the 400-meter dash. His mark of 45.90 finished second in the competition and passed USF’s previous record holder in Pascal Orelus, who ran a 46.34 in 2012. Meanwhile, Stone Baker (New Port Richey, Fla.) took second place in the pole vault with a mark of 5.23 meters (17-1.75) and the women’s 4×100 relay of Zahria Allers-Liburd (Miami, Fla.), Shaniya Benjamin (Tampa, Fla.), Hannah Connell (Bridgetown, Barbados) and Kadesha Prescott (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) finished in second with a 44.51 that moved the group up to 3rd on the program’s top ten list.
The Bulls had a strong showing in the women’s 400-meter hurdles as Sanique Walker (Manchester, Jamaica), Shaneylix Davila (Kissimmee, Fla.) and Chakiya Plummer (Hoover, Ala.) took second, third and fourth, respectively, in the event. Walker finished in 58.92, Davila in 59.22 and Plummer in 1:00.57.
Eron Carter (Palatka, Fla.) took third place in the discus throw with a throw of 53.19 meters (174-6) while the women’s 4×400 relay, consisting of Allers-Liburd, Benjamin, Connell and Walker completed USF’s podium finishes with a third-place finish. Their mark of 3:37.74 moved the group up to fourth on USF’s all-time list.
Ajama finished fourth in the men’s triple jump competition, earning the Bulls points in the team competition with a mark of 15.52 meters (50-11), while the men’s 4×100 relay of Tyler Dunigan (Sarasota, Fla.), Danelson Mahautiere (Roseau, Dominica), Wright and Parker also finished in fourth with a mark of 40.74 seconds.
Davila earned a fourth-place finish in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.32 and Connell finished closely behind her in sixth with a time of 13.48. In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, Bourne III took fourth after running a 13.71 in the event.
Also earning points of the Bulls, Bourne took seventh in the men’s 400 hurdle with a time of 53.44, Parker took eighth in the 400 with a time of 50.43 and Connell finished eighth in the 100 with a time of 11.73.
Up Next
The Bulls wait to see who qualifies for the NCAA East Region Preliminaries meet, which starts on May 25th in Indianapolis, Ind.
About USF Track and Field
The USF track and field team has earned 54 All-America selections and at least one All-American in 10 of the last 12 years, including a record eight athletes claiming 11 honors in 2021. Tampa native Shaniya Benjamin set a program record earning three All-American honors during the 2021 outdoor season, while triple jumper Matthew O’Neal, a 2016 graduate, became USF’s first six-time NCAA All-American. Bulls have posted two NCAA runner-up finishes since 2013 – O’Neal (triple jump, 2016) and Courtney Anderson (high jump, 2013). Head coach Erik Jenkins took over the program in 2020 and in the 2021 outdoor season the Bulls posted seven program records and 40 top 10 all-time program marks. USF hosted the 2018 NCAA Track and Field East Preliminary and the 2021 AAC Outdoor Championship at the USF Track and Field Stadium located on the east end of campus.
– #GoBulls –
