USF coming of nine top 10 program marks in last outing;
Tampa freshman Shaniya Benjamin continues to excel in multiple events;
Bulls heading toward AAC Championships in Tampa, May 14-16
MEET: UCF Knights Invitational
DATE: Friday, April 23 I Saturday, April 24
LOCATION: Orlando, Fla.
VENUE: UCF Track & Soccer Complex
TIME: 1 p.m. | 9 a.m.
TAMPA, APRIL 22, 2021 – The USF track and field team will compete in the sunshine state again this weekend following some outstanding performances at the Tom Jones Memorial last weekend at the University of Florida. This weekend the Bulls will head down I-4 for the UCF Knights Invitational, Friday and Saturday in Orlando.
Competition begins Friday at 1 p.m. with the men’s and women’s hammer throw and pole vault.
The meet continues Saturday at 9 a.m. with the men’s and women’s discuss competition kicking off a day of events that concludes at 3:10 p.m. with the 4X400 relays, an event both USF men’s and women’s teams posted times among the best all-time in program history last week.
The women’s 4×400 meter relay team of Gabrielle DesRosiers (Chicago, Ill.), Shaniya Benjamin (Tampa, Fla.), Jae’Nisa Heckstall (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Jasmine Knowles (Nassau, Bahamas) set a USF record for the third time on the 2021 season last week at Florida, posting a time of 3:36.26 to better previous record times of 3:37.88 and 3:38.32 posted earlier this season with different lineups each time. Meanwhile, the men’s team of Monte Parker (Plantation, Fla.), Stefone Moore-Green (Sicklerville, N.J.), Duncan Agyemang (Kumasi, Ghana) and Elijah Wright (Naples, Fla.) posted a time of 3:09.41 to rank as the second-best in program history.
Both programs posted several top 10 program marks last week in Gainesville. Among the standouts on the men’s side were sophomore David Ajama (Lowell, Mass.), whose triple jump mark of 50-5.50 ranks sixth in program history, and freshman pole vaulter Kobe Babin (Niceville, Fla.), whose mark of 16-6.75 tied for 10th-best in program history.
On the women’s side, Tampa freshman Shaniya Benjamin continued to excel posting the sixth-best time in program history in the 200 meters (23.77) and running legs of the program record setting 4X400 relay as well as the 4X100 relay that posted a time of 45.33 to rank eighth-best in program history. Junior Shaneylix Davila (Kissimmee, Fla.) posted top 10 program times in the 100-meter hurdles (13.54/4th) and 400-meter hurdles (59.47/3rd) while freshman Jasmine Knowles posted the fourth-best time in program history in the 800 meters (2:08.44).
The Bulls will compete against athletes from UCF, Clemson, FIU, FAU, Florida A&M, Alabama State, Eastern Michigan, Northeastern, Toledo, Grand Valley and Southeastern among others in their second-to-last meet before the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be hosted at the USF Track & Field Stadium in Tampa, May 14-16.
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About USF Track and Field
The USF track and field team has produced 22 All-America selections since 2008 and at least one All-American in nine of the last 11 years. 2016 graduate Matthew O’Neal is USF’s first six-time NCAA All-American. USF has posted two NCAA runner-up finishes since 2013 – O’Neal (triple jump, 2016) and Courtney Anderson (high jump, 2013). The Bulls hosted the 2018 NCAA Track and Field East Preliminary at the USF Track and Field Stadium and will host the 2021 AAC Outdoor Championships.
– #GoBulls –
