TAMPA - Head coach Warren Bye of the University of South Florida track & field/cross country teams has announced his official 2009 signing class. A total of 15 student-athletes will join an already impressive returning lineup for the Bulls in the 2009-10 season, highlighted by several Florida state champions, including a national decathlon champion.
The incoming athletes own 16 state titles and were part of four state team titles during their high school careers.
On the men's side, Bye and his staff welcome eight incoming freshmen to the 2009-10 squad, including three of Florida's top 6 pole vaulters, a highly-touted decathlete and some of the fastest legs in the state.
"We are striving to build a team across the board," said Bye. "With this signing class, we added several outstanding field athletes, a decathlon champion, a distance runner and a couple of sprinters - all of these young men will contribute to our program in the future at both the conference and national level."
Multi-talented athlete Neamen Wise joins the Bulls after achieving numerous accomplishments both in his senior season at Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs, Fla., and during the summer months in several national events. At the Florida State Track and Field Championships, Wise captured titles in both the long jump and 300-meter hurdles while taking third in the 110 hurdles. Wise also captured decathlon crowns at both the Nike Indoor National Championships in March and the USATF Junior Olympic National Championships in July, in addition to finishing third at USA Junior Nationals in June. Wise was named the Florida Gatorade Track Athlete of the Year and a USA Today All-American.
Merritt Island High School product Mike Vani joins the Bulls' roster after capturing the Florida state title in the pole vault and breaking the state record in the process with a mark of 16-8. Vani, who placed third at the 2008 state championships, broke Merritt Island's 32-year-old pole vault record in the process. Vani was named to flrunners.com's All-Decade Team and was a three-time all-conference selection.
Vani won't be the only top pole vaulter joining the Bulls, as both Sean Zuppke and Wyatt Metzger will look to make their marks on the USF record book after placing second and third, respectively, behind Vani at the state meet. Metzger, out of Timber Creek High School, placed seventh at the Nike Indoor Championships, was fourth at the state meet in 2007 as a sophomore and 18th at the USATF Junior Track and Field Championships in July 2008.
Zuppke, a Park Vista High School graduate, took second at the 2009 state meet after taking third in 2008. He also placed first at the 4A Region 3 meet this season and second as a junior, in addition to finishing fourth at the Golden South Classic in late May.
Eric McMillan comes to USF from John A. Ferguson High School in Miami after placing second in the triple jump at the Florida state 4A meet in 2009. McMillan also performed well in the high jump, finishing as the district champion in the event in both 2008 and '09. The multi-dimensional McMillan competed at the Region 4 meet in high jump, long jump, triple jump as well as the 400-meter dash.
Distance specialist Felix Soto joins USF out of Land O Lakes High School and will add to a good core of returning cross country runners after placing 10th in the 5,000 meters at the 2008 Florida state cross country championships. Soto will also compete in the long distance events in track after placing fifth in the 1,600 meters and ninth in the 3,200 at the state championships in May. He was a Region 2 champion in both events as well.
An infusion of speed will arrive at USF in the form of football signees Derrick Hopkins and Lindsey Lamar, who both project as big performers for the 2009 track and field class in both the 100 and 200 meters.
Hopkins, out of Miami Monsignor Pace High School, captured the state title in both the 100 and the 200 in 2009. He captured the 200 crown for the second straight season, as his 2008 state champion time of 20.97 was the best in the nation. He finished second in the 100 in 2008, leading his team to a second-place finish. Hopkins was also part of the state champion 4x100 team that captured the title the last three years along with football teammates Kayvon Webster and Sterling Griffin.
Local athlete Lamar joins the Bulls out of Tampa's Hillsborough High School and will also add speed to the 100 and 200. Lamar finished fourth at the 2008 state meet in the 200, and continued to excel in 2009, finishing first in the 100, 200 and 400 at the Region 3 meet before pulling out of the state championships due to injury.
On the women's side, USF welcomes a slew of talent, including state champions in the high jump and 300 hurdles as well as several members of state championship relay teams.
"On the women's side, we continue to strengthen our middle distance group with the 2009 signing class," said Bye. "These young ladies will come in and be great additions for our team. Along with the eight distance runners we signed in 2008, they will be a great help in BIG EAST competition."
Twin sisters Rachael and Rebecca James join the Bulls out of Boyd Anderson High School. Both athletes will help tremendously in the relays for USF, as the pair was a part of the 4A state champion 4x400 relay team in 2008 that set the state record in the process. Rachel went on the capture the title again in the 4x400 in 2009 as well as the state title in the 4x800 for Boyd Anderson. Both sisters were part of the 4x800 relay that finished as the state runner-up in 2007 and '08, as well as the 4x400 relay that took third in 2007.
After taking fourth at the Region 3 Championship in the 800 in 2008, Rachel captured the regional title in 2009. She then went on to finish fourth in the 800 in 2009 after taking fifth in the event at states in 2008. Rebecca was also a two-time district and regional champion in the 400 in 2007 and '08, and finished third both years at the state meet.
The Bulls welcome Mariner High School product Courtney Anderson in the high jump, fresh off her state 4A championship in 2009, tying the state's best high jump mark in 2009. Anderson has excelled in the event at states, finishing third, fourth and second her first three high school seasons. She was also a three-time Region 2 champion in the event the last three seasons.
Ena Johnson, out of Florida High School in Tallahassee, will strengthen the hurdles for the Bulls after capturing the 300 hurdles 2A state crown in 2009. Johnson later competed at the Golden South Classic, placing third in the 100 hurdles and fifth in the 400 hurdles. Johnson was also a member of the state championship team in both eighth and ninth grades.
Tralanda Todd comes to USF after leading William M. Raines High School to back-to-back 2A state championships the last two seasons. She was a member of the 4x100 meter relay squad that won the state title for the second year in a row. In addition, she placed fourth in the triple jump at the state meet in 2009. Todd also competed at both the 2008 and '09 National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships in the 4x100 and the triple jump.
All-around competitor Robyn Oakley hails from Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Pa., where she has competed in the 800 and 400, the 60-, 100-, 300-, and 400-meter hurdles, as well as the triple and long jumps. Oakley will look to make an impact with the Bulls in both the 800 and 400 hurdles. Last season, Oakley took fifth in the preliminaries in the 300 hurdles at the PIAA Track and Field State Championships after taking second at the District 12 meet and seventh in the triple jump.
Speedster Dariel Jackson out of Satellite High School rounds out the Bulls' recruiting class and will look to make an immediate impact for the Bulls in both the 100 and 200. She finished sixth in the 100 at the state championships and competed in the 200 preliminaries, grabbing ninth overall. She also finished third in the 100 and fourth in the 200 at the Region 4 meet. She was named to the All-Space Coast Girls Track and Field First Team in both 2007 and '09.
The Bulls kick off their 2009 cross country season Sept. 4 at the University of Tampa Invitational at Sydney Dover Trail Park in Brandon, Fla., beginning at 6 p.m. The 2009-10 track and field schedule is being finalized and will be available in September.
