USF women win three conference titles, the program’s most since 2013;
Men’s 4X400 relay finishes second in school record time
TAMPA, MAY 16, 2021 – Junior Jae’Nisa Heckstall (Phoenix) flew to a conference title in the 400-meter hurdles and then returned to the track to anchor the Bulls’ championship winning 4X400-meter relay on Sunday’s final day of the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the USF Track and Field Stadium
Heckstall’s individual title in the 400-meter hurdles was the first outdoor conference title for a USF woman on the track since 2013, and she won it with a meet record, USF record and current No. 9 ranked time in the nation of 56.94. She returned to anchor the conference title winning 4X400-meter relay, joining teammates Gabrielle DesRosiers, Shaniya Benjamin and Patricija Roshofa in running 3:35.03 to claim the program’s fourth conference title in the event and first since 2003.
The three outdoor conference titles for the women (freshman Shaniya Benjamin also won the long jump on Saturday) marked the most since winning three in 2013 in the Big East and helped propel the Bulls, in their second season under head coach Erik Jenkins, to a 6th place team finish – the program’s best ever in The American and highest conference placing since finishing third in the 2013 Big East Outdoor Championships. The women did it despite losing eight points when the 4X100-meter relay, which finished second, was disqualified for a lane violation.
The USF men also finished sixth, the best outdoor conference placing since 2016, behind the strength of several top placers, including the 4X400-meter relay team of Duncan Agyemang, Monte Parker, Toluwani Adebakin and Stefone Moore-Green that ran a school-record time of 3:07.43 to finish second.
Other scorers on the day for the women included Shaneylix Davila and Heckstall both breaking the previous school record in the 100-meter hurdles as Davila (13.17) finished second and Heckstall (13.18) fourth. Davila also finished third in the 400-meter hurdles in 58.55, the third-best time in program history.
DesRosiers finished fifth in the 400 meters in 54.03, the third-best time in program history. Benjamin finished fifth (23.47) and DesRosiers sixth (23.61) in the 200 meters, running the fourth and sixth-best times in program history. Arielle Boone finished sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 41-8, the fourth-best mark in program history.
Other scorers for the men included Agyemang taking second in the 400-meter hurdles in 51.01, the fourth-best time in program history. Parker (47.48) and Moore-Green (47.69) finished fourth and fifth in the 400 meters, with Parker jumping into the program top 10 with the sixth-best time. David Ajama posted a third-place finish in the triple jump (51-8.25) and seventh in the high jump (6-8.25), his triple jump mark ranking third all-time at USF. Akeem Bradshaw took seventh in the triple jump with a leap of 49-3.75. The 4X100-meter relay finished sixth in 1:02.76 and Johann Jeremiah claimed eighth in the discus with a toss of 159-0.
Several Bulls have qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary, May 27-29 in Jacksonville, Fla.
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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.
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