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TAMPA - The University of South Florida track and field program held its annual team dinner Sunday night in the BIG EAST Room of the Athletic Building. Numerous accomplishments from the 2008-09 season were honored by the coaches and emcee Kemel Thompson.
The Bulls completed another successful season in 2009, highlighted by seven new school records in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, eight All-BIG EAST performances, 15 NCAA Regional qualifying marks and two top-5 finishes at the USA Junior National Championships, including the first ever win by a USF athlete.
After capturing the javelin title at the junior championships, sophomore Casey Wagner was honored with the Outstanding Female Field Athlete of the Year Award. Wagner, who set the school record in the event with a toss of 152-0 feet for a second-place finish at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, competed at the Junior Pan American Games at the end of July.
Departing senior Errol Blackmon was awarded the Outstanding Male Field Athlete of the Year after competing in the NCAA Championships in the high jump for the third time in his career in 2009, taking 15th overall. Blackmon was a four-time NCAA Regional qualifier and earned the bronze at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships. His career best of 7-1 stands third all time in USF history.
Senior Yvana Hepburn was named the Outstanding Female Track Athlete of the Year after setting the indoor school record in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.40 seconds, .01 seconds faster than the previous best set by former Olympian Damu Cherry. Hepburn also moved up to the second-best mark in the outdoor 100 hurdles with a 13.64, finishing third at the outdoor league championships in the event.
Another departing senior, Glenn Fowler, was bestowed the Outstanding Male Track Athlete of the Year after winning the gold for the second year in a row at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships in the 400 hurdles to become the first athlete at USF to win back-to-back BIG EAST titles. Fowler, who owns the second-best mark in the 400 hurdles behind Thompson, also set the school record in the 110 hurdles with a time of 13.94 and finished third at the indoor championships in the 60 hurdles.
Sophomores Yasmin Smith and Phillip Wise were honored for their accomplishments last fall, as the pair was named the Outstanding Female and Male Cross Country Athletes of the Year. Smith was the top finisher for the Bulls at three different meets in 2008, and competed at both the BIG EAST and NCAA South Regional Championships.
Wise, meanwhile, had the fastest time for the Bulls at the BIG EAST Championships and finished in the top 3 among USF competitors at the other four meets he ran, including posting a personal best at the Paul Short Invitational.
Jared Thomas was honored as the Outstanding Freshman Athlete of the Year after concluding his season with a fifth-place finish in the discus at the Junior Championships. Thomas set the school record with a launch of 181-2 at the LSU Alumni Meet and also earned All-BIG EAST honors by placing third at the outdoor league championships.
Senior Greg Fontus was named the Toughest Male Competitor, while senior Samantha Shade and sophomore Shaniel Chambers were both awarded plaques for Toughest Female Competitor.
Fontus ran the 100, 200 and 4x100 relays at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, helping the relay squad take second overall.
Shade moved up to second all time in the indoor triple jump, finishing seventh at the indoor league meet and fourth at outdoors, while also posting a personal best in the long jump. Chambers was a member of the 4x400, 4x800 and DMR relay teams, set the school record in the 500 meters with a time of 1:13.66 and finished the year with the second-best time ever at USF in the 800. Chambers also ran in several cross country meets as well.
A pair of departed athletes in Grant Scelzi and Jazmine Highsmith were given the Most Improved Male and Female Athlete Awards. Scelzi set the school record in the decathlon while also adding more than a foot to his pole vault personal best, which moved him into third in USF annals. Highsmith increased her personal best in the weight throw by 10 feet and now ranks second in USF history in the weight throw and fourth in the hammer.
In addition to the previous six school record holders, junior Antillio Bastian was honored for his record-breaking performance in the triple jump, as he set the next school mark with a distance of 51-3.5 at the LSU Alumni Meet.
In addition to their prowess on the track, several USF athletes were honored for their dedication in the classroom, as Wise and Chambers were each named Outstanding Academic Freshman. Scelzi and Sara Williams earned Outstanding Academic Senior honors, while the quartet of Wagner, Hepburn and juniors Stephanie Duffy and Dana Webb were awarded plaques after earning spots on the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team. All four posted a GPA of 3.20 or higher in addition to qualifying for the NCAA Regional meet.
Overall, 13 women carried a 4.0 GPA during the 2008-09 academic year, with 43 student-athletes posting a 3.5 or better and 61 earning a GPA above 3.0. The women's squad was also named to the USTFCCA All-Academic Team. On the men's side, four student-athletes posted GPAs of 3.5 or better, while 17 were above the 3.0 mark. A total of 10 men and 40 women earned BIG EAST All-Academic honors.
