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TAMPA – The University of South Florida men's and women's track and field teams head back to the Buckeye State to compete in the Akron Quad Friday evening at the Stile Athletics Field House on the campus of the University of Akron. The men's and women's pole vaults are slated to go at 6 p.m., as the meet will now begin an hour earlier than the previously-announced time of 7 p.m.
The meet will serve as the season debut for the men's team, while the women will compete for the second time during the 2009-10 indoor season following the Oiler Invitational Dec. 4-5. The Akron Quad will mark the first of four-straight weekends either one or both of the track teams will go north to compete.
Bulls Add Three More For Spring Semester
In addition to those newcomers who have been training out at the USF Track & Field Stadium since the fall, getting ready for the indoor campaign, three additional athletes joined the team for the spring semester and began classes this week.
Pascal Orelus adds depth to the 400 just in time, as the Bulls will lose some of their top runners in seniors Josh Wimbley, Mikail Ebanks and Greg Fontus following the 2010 season. In addition to finishing second at states as a senior in 2009, Orelus also captured the Broward County, district and regional championship in the 400.
USF will receive a big boost from junior college transfer and javelin thrower Kevin Kelly, who will give USF one of its best opportunities to score points at the outdoor BIG EAST Championships. Kelly owns a personal-best of 204-5 feet, set in 2008 when he competed for Reedley Community College, a distance that would rank him just short of the best mark all-time at USF. Only two BIG EAST athletes at the 2009 conference meet cracked the 200-foot barrier.
After struggling with depth last year, especially in the sprints, all of a sudden the women's team is loaded in both the sprints and jumps, as the cupboard got even more full with the addition of freshman Monique Williams. At last year's Florida state meet, Williams finished second in the finals of both the triple jump and long jump. She will also run the 60 meters after running in the prelims of the 100 at the state meet in 2009.
USF Unveils 2009-10 Online Interactive Guide
The USF athletics department will no longer print media guides and has now switched over to a new online, interactive format, which features vivid photography, videos of both the coaches and athletes, as well as everything else one would need in order to stay informed about the USF track and field program. Click here to head to the press release and then click on the image inside the story to open up the 2009-10 Track & Field Interactive Guide. Learn more about the athletes, watch them perform on the track, listen to what the coaches have to say about the program, and much, much more.
Last Time Out For the Bulls
The women captured three event titles and posted eight different BIG EAST qualifying marks at the Oiler Invitational Dec. 4-5 at Findlay University.
Sophomores Lauren Noe and Atasha Warren both eclipsed the qualifying mark in the weight throw with throws of 55-0.75 and 53-7.75, while Warren did the same in the shot put as well with a distance of 43-9.25.
USF also got solid showings in the field events in the triple jump (Samantha Shade - 37-5), high jump (Courtney Anderson - 5-6) and pole vault (Stephanie Duffy - 12-5.5), as all three earned their spot at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships. Anderson's showing put her in a tie for fifth on the all-time indoor top-10 list.
Senior
Yvana Hepburn got her season off strong with a time of 8.62 in the 60-meter hurdles, while freshman
Dariel Jackson rounded out USF's BIG EAST qualifiers in the 60 meters with a times of 7.74.
Head to the new
Media Center page to find the links to the full recap and the results in PDF format from the Oiler Invite, as well as the recap and results from every meet during the rest of the season as they happen. Don't forget to keep tabs on the team's progress throughout the year with the
Track & Field Records and History Index page.
Hello NewcomersMuch like the women did a little more than a month ago, several freshmen on the men's team will make their USF debuts Friday night for the Bulls.
Rookie
Neamen Wise is set to participate in several events as he gets prepared to compete for USF in the heptathlon and then the decathlon during the outdoor campaign. Wise, a junior national champion in both the heptathlon and decathlon, will throw the shot put following the pole vault and long jump - an event he captured the Florida high school state title in as a senior - followed by the 60-meter hurdles and the 4x400 meter relay.
Two of the Bulls' three freshmen pole vaulters will get their first taste of collegiate competition as well in
Mike Vani and
Wyatt Metzger. Vani, the 2009 Florida state champion, owns the state record after vaulting 16-8 at the state meet, while Metzger came in third behind Vani and USF's third rookie pole vaulter,
Sean Zuppke.
Eric McMillan has his sites set on capturing the event titles in both the long and triple jumps. McMillan finished second in the triple jump at last year's Florida state meet. In addition, Orelus will run the 400 and 4x400 relay. Like McMillan, Orelus also took second at the state meet his senior year, coming up just short of the title in the 400.
Even More Debuts
Several more newbies on the women's side will compete in their first collegiate meet following the debuts of a host of athletes at the Oiler Invite.
Rebecca James will run both the 200 and 400 meters as well as the 4x400 relay, joining her twin sister, Rachel James, who ran the 800 in Findlay. Junior Cinnamon Jenkins, a junior college transfer who did not compete in 2009, will see her first action in a USF uniform and will compete with the James' sisters in the relay. Jenkins, who has improved tremendously from last season, will also run the 60 and 200 meters.
Freshman Miriam Skipper will take part in the 60 and 200 meters as well, while also joining Shade in the long jump. Williams will add one more body to the long jump along with the triple jump and the 60 meters.
Welcome Home
Although a large portion of USF's roster is made up of Florida residents, a few athletes hail from up north, including sophomore Lauren Noe, who arrived in Tampa following her time at Cuyahoga Falls High School, located roughly five miles from the Akron campus.
In addition, freshman Robyn Oakley and sophomore Shaniel Chambers are Pennsylvania natives, while junior Dana Webb grew up on the other side of the Buckeye State in Indiana.
USF Brings Holiday Cheer to Elderly
Back in December, members of the USF track team headed to the Fairway Oaks Center to sing Christmas songs to the elderly patients of the nursing home. Head here to watch the video of USF's athletes and associate head coach Lissa Olson as they bring some holiday spirit.
Chambers Named Nesquik Student-Athlete of the Week
Sophomore Shaniel Chambers was named the Nesquik Student-Athlete of the Week prior to the holiday break. Click here to watch the interview with Chambers as she spoke about her academic and athletic success.
Up Next
The Bulls will fly up to the Twin Cities to compete in the Minnesota Invitational Saturday, Jan. 23 at the University of Minnesota.
