Men's Results | Women's Results | Sunday's Live Stats | BIG EAST Championship Central
NEW YORK - Against the best in the BIG EAST Conference Saturday afternoon, junior Stephanie Duffy proved there was no equal.
Duffy, competing in the pole vault at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, took home the conference title after clearing 13-3.5 at The New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory in New York, outdistancing the second-place finisher, Cincinnati's Michelle Eby, who leapt 12-11.5.
"It felt really good to go out there and represent the University of South Florida by winning the BIG EAST title, especially in front of all my family and friends," said Duffy, a Washingtonville, N.Y., native. "I came in and jumped what my seed was and did exactly what I had to do to win."
Duffy, who also leapt 13-3.5 at the Reebok Invitational Jan. 29, made three attempts at 13-7 to try and cement her ticket to the NCAA National Championships, but came up just short in her attempts.
"I felt like it was anyone's field, especially after the men's pole vault," said Duffy. "I knew it would come down to making it on your first attempt."
She becomes USF's second BIG EAST Indoor Champion on the women's side, and the second in three years in the pole vault after Denise vonEynatten won the title in 2008.
Senior Sean Young almost made it a sweep for the Bulls in the pole vaults, as he captured second place earlier in the day to earn All-BIG EAST honors. Young and conference champion Kevin Schipper of Notre Dame both cleared 16-8.75, but Schipper made it in his first attempt while Young did it in his second for the final placements.
In team standings, the women currently hold down fourth place with 22 points, while the men stand sixth with 13 points with a slew of athletes in the finals of their respective events Sunday.
Also in the pole vault, junior Dana Webb finished fourth for the women at 12-7.5, surpassing her best of the season, while freshman Mike Vani also scored points for the Bulls by finishing eighth at a season-best 15-3.
Sophomore Reshaw Exilien put himself in great position to earn All-BIG EAST honors in the 400 meters, as he placed second in the preliminaries by running a PR of 48.40.
Sprinters Armante Marshall, Lindsey Lamar and Derrick Hopkins were three of the eight athletes to earn their way to the final of the 60 meters. Lamar placed third after running 6.80, while Hopkins placed fifth in the prelims in 6.83. The senior Marshall came in eighth after running a personal record of 6.92.
Sophomore David Aristil ran his personal best time of 8.04 for the third time during the indoor season as he placed fifth in the preliminaries of the 60 meter hurdles, putting himself into the finals Sunday.
Two more sprinters in seniors Greg Fontus and Josh Wimbley will make a finals appearance in the 200 meters as well, as the pair finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the preliminaries in times of 21.96 and 21.99, respectively. Wimbley posted a new personal best by more than half a second.
Sophomore Shaniel Chambers qualified for the finals in the 500 meters on Sunday after finishing sixth in the preliminaries at 1:13.25 to improve upon her school record. Fellow classmate Yasmin Smith will also run in the finals Saturday after shaving several seconds off her personal best in the mile, as she ran a 4:53.90 to place 11th in the preliminaries.
Sophomore Atasha Warren earned herself a personal best in the weight throw, using a heave of 56-1 to place sixth in the finals. On the other side, a throw of 57-9 gave sophomore Jared Thomas eighth place. Both marks were personal bests by the two.
Freshman Monique Williams earned the Bulls a point in the long jump by leaping 19-0, placing eighth in the finals.
Both of USF's Distance Medley Relays finished sixth Saturday, with the women running an 11:48.50, helped by sophomore Allie Prendergast, who made up more than a handful of spots during the last leg of the relay in the mile. Chambers, sophomore Nicole Rozario and freshman Rebecca James rounded out the relay for the Bulls.
The men posted a time of 9:56.06 on the legs of seniors Mikail Ebanks and Ryan Courtoy, sophomore Phillip Wise and freshman Pascal Orelus.
Junior Rachel Etienne posted a personal record in the pentathlon with 3,345 points, putting her ninth at the meet, which included third-place finishes in the long jump at 18-2.5 and the 800 meters at 2:23.32.
Freshman Dariel Jackson ran her season best in the 60 meters at 7.69, while also running her top time of the year in the 200 at 25.10. Another freshman, Ena Johnson, did the same in the 60 hurdles, posting a time of 8.85, better than the converted time of 8.98 from the 55 hurdles mark she ran earlier in the season.
USF's third freshman PR of the afternoon belonged to James, who ran 56.46 in the 400 meters, slightly more than a second faster than her previous best.
In the heptathlon, freshman Neamen Wise withdrew due to injury.
The Bulls will be back on the track for the second day of competition at the championships Sunday beginning at 8 a.m.
