By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA – National high school hammer champion Jenn Slagus, JUCO All-American transfer Devin Screen and rising hurdles star Chris Grinley headline a list of 17 talented student-athletes that have officially signed with the USF track and field and cross country programs.
Slagus, an incoming freshman, is a three-time state medalist out of Moscow, Pa., who became the 2013 New Balance outdoor high school national champion in the hammer throw. The former North Pocono High School star heads to college with a personal best hammer throw mark of 172-10 and a top discus mark of 137-1. Slagus turned down interest from LSU to come to USF.
“Coach Toby Colyer did a great job of recruiting Jenn and getting her here. We look forward to seeing what she can do here,” head coach Warren Bye said.
Other signees on the women's side include throws specialist Rebecca Evans, distance/cross country runners Catherine Blaney, Hannah Loder, Elizabeth Harper, Natalie Novak and Kaitlyn Campo along with Sophie Brown (pole vault), Torriah Bell (jumps), Khadeeja Dooling (hurdles) and Brandi Lucas (hurdles, heptathlon).
Screen, a Tallahassee native, heads to USF after becoming a two-time NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field All-American in the discus with Coffeyville Community College. Screen has a personal best mark of 174-8 in the event and finished second and third in his two trips to the NJCAA Outdoor Championship finals.
“He reminds me of former USF All-American Jared Thomas. He's a tireless worker and loves the discus event. He studies it and does a great job,” Bye said.
Grinley, from Lake Worth, Fla., will be a freshman to key an eye on in the hurdle events after winning Class 4A state titles in the 110-meter and 300-meter events out of Park Vista High School. Grinley's personal best time of 36.29 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles ranked second in the nation this year and his time of 13.8 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles ranked 11th nationally. Grinley won the Golden South meet in the 110-meter hurdles and also was the runner-up at the New Balance high school national championships in the event.
“He's a big-time talent out of the state of Florida. He's a kid that's going to walk in and help us not only at the conference level but we'll be able to see what he can do at the national level,” Bye said.
Joining Screen and Grinley on the men's side are Cody Chernoff (pole vault), Justin Jack (high jump), David Shepard (pole vault) and Devin Williams (throws, jumps).
Aside from Slagus, the USF women's track and field team got an extra boost in the throwing events with the addition of Evans, who became a two-time FHSAA Class 3A state medalist in the discus and finished as the state runner-up in 2013. The former Winter Springs (Fla.) High School standout also placed seventh in the discus at the 2013 New Balance outdoor national high school finals and has personal best marks of 142-11 (discus) and 146-10.25 (hammer).
The USF women's squad also has distance events well covered with five new additions that all made at least one trip to the FHSAA state finals.
Blaney, from Belleview, Fla., finished fourth in the 3,200 and fifth in the 1,600 at the state finals and placed third at the FACA Senior All-Star Cross Country meet behind new teammate Campo, who also finished 10th at the 2012 FHSAA state cross country championships. Campo, from Orlando, has the best 5k mark of any USF newcomer at 18:24.62.
Loder, Harper and Novak also were invited to participate in the FACA Senior All-Star race and will help anchor a young USF cross country squad. Loder became a two-time FHSAA state finalist out of Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, Fla., and has a personal best time of 18:47.32 in the 5k. Harper also is a two-time FHSAA state finalist out Merritt Island (Fla.) High School who topped out at 18:50 in the 5k. Novak is just ahead of Harper with a personal best 5k time of 18:48.59 and became an FHSAA state finalist in 2012 out of Lakewood Ranch High School in Bradenton, Fla.
"Coach Dena Reif did an outstanding job signing this group of distance runners," Bye said.
The USF women's track and field team also got stronger in jump events with the additions of Brown and Bell. Brown heads to Tampa from Goshen, Ind., where she became the state runner-up in the pole vault has a personal best mark of 12-6 in the event. Bell was teammates with Screen at Coffeyville Community College and has personal best marks of 19-4 (long jump) and 37-6 (triple jump).
Dooling and Lucas will look to help USF keep scoring in the hurdle events after having successful runs in high school. Dooling, a Plantation, Fla., native, placed third in both the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles at the FHSAA Class 2A State Championships while Lucas turned in a personal best mark of 14.21 seconds in the 100 hurdles at Sebastian River (Fla.) High School.
The USF men's side of the signing class is loaded with versatility with three jump specialists and two more student-athletes that can handle multiple events.
Shepard arrives at USF from the University of North Florida, where he became a three-time Atlantic Sun Conference champion in the pole vault and a two-time NCAA East Preliminary qualifier. The Plantation, Fla., native has a personal best mark of 16-10 in the event.
Chernoff, from Naples, Fla., also specializes in the pole vault with a personal best mark of 15 feet in the event. Jack excels in the high jump (personal best 6-8) and won two Class 2A state titles out of Orlando Christian Prep.
Joining Screen in the throwing events will be Williams, who has a personal best mark of 173-7 in the discus. Williams, from Fort Myers, Fla., also will participate in the high jump and the long jump.
“It's a very solid class. We tried to recruit across the board in each event area. I'm very pleased with who and what we brought in for the upcoming season,” Bye said.
