TAMPA - The University of South Florida track and field team has the talent coming back to make the Bulls a force in the hurdles but must replace a two-time BIG EAST title holder in the process.
Gone is departed senior Glenn Fowler, who earned back-to-back titles in the outdoor 400 hurdles at the BIG EAST Championships the last two years. Despite the loss, the Bulls have a plethora of talent available to score big points at the league championships.
Sophomore David Aristil returns for his second year with the Bulls and ready to make a run at a BIG EAST title in the 400 hurdles. Aristil finished fifth as a freshman in 2009 in the event and already owns the third-best mark in school history behind Fowler and former Olympian Kemel Thompson with a time of 51.64. Aristil also qualified for the NCAA Regional in the 400 hurdles his first season.
Aristil will also run the 110 meter hurdles along with junior Kendale McDaniel. All three rank in the top 10 on USF's all-time record book, with McDaniel sitting in third at 14.30. He will look to improve upon his 10th-place showing at the 2009 league meet, while also competing in the 400 hurdles.
USF will welcome one more competitor in the hurdles in the form of Florida state champion Neamen Wise. The former junior decathlon national champion won the state title in the 300 hurdles in 2009, posting the second-fastest time in the nation. Wise also finished third in the 110 hurdles at the state meet.
Much like the men last year with Fowler, the women in 2010 will rely upon a senior to lead the way. After finishing third at the BIG EAST outdoor meet in 2009 in the 100 hurdles and qualifying for the NCAA Regional, Yvana Hepburn will aim for a league title in her last season with the Bulls. Hepburn currently owns the second-fastest mark in school history with a time of 13.64 behind Olympian Damu Cherry, but does own the indoor 60 hurdles record after surpassing Cherry last season with a time of 8.40.
Senior Kayla Richmond brings experience to the 400 hurdles after competing at the league championships in 2009, as she looks to move up the all-time performance list from her spot in 10th.
Like the men again, the women also welcome a Florida state champion in the 300 hurdles, as rookie Ena Johnson provides USF with additional depth in the 400 hurdles after capturing the 300 hurdles state title as a senior in 2009, only four months after first running the event. Johnson will also be counted upon in the 100 hurdles along with Hepburn.
Also expected to add depth to the hurdles will be freshmen Robyn Oakley and Deloria Jackson. Oakley, a Springfield, Pa., native, had one of the fastest times in the nation as a junior in the 300 hurdles, while Jackson was a Florida all-state performer in 2008 and '09 in event.
Stay tuned to GoUSFBulls.com for the next season preview, the throws, on Wednesday.
