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TAMPA - The last stop on the collegiate circuit for the 2009-10 track and field season begins Wednesday with the NCAA Championships. A quartet of Bulls will make their way to Eugene, Ore., and onto the campus of the University of Oregon to compete on legendary Hayward Field.
The four sophomores set to compete include: Jared Thomas in the discus, Davis Aristil in the 400 hurdles, Nicole Rozario in the 3,000 steeplechase and Casey Wagner in the javelin.
View a Photo Gallery of the Four in Uniform
They join 23 other competitors in their respective events looking to earn All-America status, with one walking away with an elusive NCAA title. All four Bulls advanced after placing in the top 12 at the NCAA East Prelim May 27-29 at North Carolina A&T. They join the top 12 from the West Prelim to form the field of 24 at Oregon.
Thomas will get things started at 2 p.m. Wednesday during the trials of the men's discus. Aristil will run that day at 6:45 p.m. in the semifinal of the 400 hurdles. Rozario will compete Thursday at 6:15 p.m. in the semifinal of the 3,000 steeplechase, while Wagner throws Saturday at 9:30 a.m. during the trials of the women's javelin. The top nine individuals following the trials will advance to the final. The finals of the field events occur right after the trials.
Should Aristil and Rozario qualify for the final in their respective events, Aristil will then run Friday at 5:05 p.m., while Rozario would run at 10:54 a.m. Saturday. In the steeplechase, the top six of both heats plus the next two best times advance to the final, while the top two in each of the three heats plus the next two best times will advance in the 400 hurdles.
The foursome all hold the school records in their respective events, and have broken the records a combined nine times in 2010. Thomas and Wagner did so three times this season, while Rozario accomplished the feat twice and Aristil set the new USF mark once as well.
Every year since 1921 (except 1924), teams have come together to compete in the men's track and field championships. The NCAA has sponsored the women's track and field championships since 1982.
Following the Championships, USF will look to send several athletes to the USA Junior National Championships June 23-26 at Drake. USF had six athletes qualify and four compete in 2009, including Wagner, who won the title in the javelin to become USF's first-ever junior national champion.
Below is information on all four of the Bulls set to compete this week as well as some USF NCAA history.
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Jared Thomas, Discus, Wednesday - 5 p.m. EST (Trials - First Flight - and Final) |
Sophomore Jared Thomas will throw in the first flight of the discus at the NCAA Championships. He ranks ninth overall in the country in the discus after his throw of 193-6 at the FSU Relays March 27. Thomas just made the cut to get to Eugene, as he placed 12th at the NCAA East Prelim May 29. His first throw of the afternoon went 174-3, which qualified him for the final at the Prelim and was just enough to put him in 12th by the end of the day. The 13th- and 14th-place finishers at the Prelim threw 174-2 and 174-1, respectively. Easily USF's school record holder, Thomas became the first male thrower (shot put, discus, hammer and javelin) to qualify for the national meet. He placed fourth at the BIG EAST Championships this year after taking third during his freshman campaign. He is attempting to become USF's fifth-different All-American on the men's side. Thomas sits at 24th entering the championships based on everyone's Prelim performances. He is the only BIG EAST athlete to qualify in the men's discus.
Thomas' Full Bio... |
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David Aristil, 400 Hurdles, Wednesday - 9:45 p.m. EST (Semifinal, Heat 3), Friday - 8:05 p.m. EST (Final) |
Sophomore David Aristil was always a solid runner his first two seasons with the Bulls, but toward the end of his sophomore campaign he has begun to turn the corner into becoming an elite runner. He placed sixth overall at the NCAA East Prelim May 28, running a time of 50.57 in the quarterfinal round among a field of 24. That came a day after he posted a time of 50.45 in the first round, which was the second-fastest time of the 48 competitors who made up the field at the Prelim. More importantly, Aristil made up ground over the last few hurdles in the quarterfinal race after slightly tripping over a hurdle on the back stretch and stutter-stepping a few others early on. Aristil had a personal best of 51.13 prior to the BIG EAST Championships, but his time of 50.42 in the final propelled him to the BIG EAST title and broke the USF school record of 50.50 set by Olympian Kemel Thompson in 1996. Now, he has run sub-51.00 during three of the last four races after having never gotten below that 51.13 mark. His season-best of 50.42 ranks him 15th overall in the NCAA this year. He also sits at 18th entering the championships based on Prelim performances. He joins Thompson as the only USF 400-meter hurdle qualifiers for nationals and will run in the third of three heats of the semifinal.
Aristil's Full Bio... |
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Nicole Rozario, 3,000 Steeplechase, Thursday - 9:15 p.m. EST (Semifinal, Heat 2), Saturday - 1:54 p.m. EST (Final) |
Sophomore Nicole Rozario earned a spot in the NCAA Championships in the 3,000 steeplechase and will run in the second of two heats in Oregon after placing second in her heat and eighth overall at the NCAA East Prelim May 29, running a time of 10:30.36. She had come into the meet ranked eighth in the East Region after her school-record time of 10:23.01 at the Sea Ray Relays April 10. That time shaved 30 seconds off her previous personal-best from her freshman campaign. She became the first female NCAA qualifier in the steeplechase, and the third ever for the USF program. She placed fifth at this year's BIG EAST meet after helping the DMR take sixth during the indoor championships. She was a three-time high school All-American and qualified, but did not run, for the USA Junior National Championships last season. Her season-best time of 10:23.01 puts her 23rd overall in the nation, while she also sits at 20th out of the 24 competitors at the championships based on her Prelim time.
Rozario's Full Bio... |
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Casey Wagner, Javelin, Saturday - 12:30 p.m. EST (Trials - Flight 1 - and Final) |
Sophomore Casey Wagner will compete in the first of two flights at nationals after she placed seventh at the NCAA East Prelim with an official throw of 155-8. That mark just edged out her previous best of 155-7 set at the Penn Relays April 22 and extended her school record once more. Wagner had entered the Prelim ninth in the East Region. She sits 36th overall on the national list this year and 19th among those set to compete at nationals based on their Prelim performances. A USA Junior National Champion in 2009 - USF's first ever - Wagner become the first USF student-athlete to qualify for NCAAs in the javelin. She took fourth at this year's BIG EAST meet after placing second her freshman campaign, a year in which she set the school record in her first-ever collegiate meet. She will be one of four BIG EAST athletes to compete in the javelin at the Championships.
Wagner's Full Bio... |
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Some USF NCAA HistoryHere are some quick facts for USF's NCAA history:
* The four NCAA qualifiers marks the fifth different time at least four Bulls have qualified for the NCAA Championships. USF also had four go to nationals in 1999, 2003 and 2008, while four individuals and the women's 4x100 relay competed in 2001. That year, 2010 USF Hall of Fame inductee Kerine Black competed in the 100 meters, the long and triple jumps and in the 4x100 relay.
* Along with Black's performance in 2001, the 2003 campaign marks the only other time an individual competed in more than one event at the Championships when Dayana Octavien threw the discus and hammer.
* The number now stands at 23 for the men and 23 for the women in terms of the number of times a USF athlete has qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The women have had 22 individual qualifiers for nationals along with the 4x100 relay in 2001. USF has also had 11 different qualifying performances for the indoor championships on the women's side, while the men, who did not compete indoors from 1999-2008 and competed sparingly throughout the '90s, have had one.
* Thomas is the first male athlete to reach nationals in a throwing event (discus, hammer, shot put and javelin), while Wagner is the first USF athlete to go in the javelin. Rozario is the first woman to reach NCAAs in the steeplechase. Aristil joins USF Olympian Kemel Thompson in reaching the championships in the 400 hurdles.
* With Wagner's berth in the javelin, the USF program eliminated one more event it has not had a national qualifier in since the program started in 1991. That just leaves the 200 and 400 meters, the 110 hurdles (men), the 4x400 relay and the heptathlon (women) and decathlon (men). USF's best event has been the high jump, in which the Bulls have had eight different qualifiers, including four-time national competitor Jimmy Baxter.
* USF has had 24 different All-America performances, which includes the indoor and outdoor seasons, Christa Benton in cross country, and the 4x100 relay. That 2001 relay counts toward five of those 24 medals with Black, Damu Cherry, Maiteland Marks, Sasha Springer and Amber Williams all earning the All-America status.
* USF's only national champion was Jon Dennis, who won back-to-back 5,000-meter titles in 1992 and '93. Tara Quinn came close in 2002, finishing as the runner-up in the 10,000 meters. Baxter and Octavien took third in 2004 in the high jump and discus, respectively, while Black took third in 2000 in the triple jump at both the indoor and outdoor championships.
* The best team finish for the Bulls occurred in 1993, when Dennis' NCAA title helped USF place in a tie for 25th among the team standings. The 2002 women's team finished tied for 29th for their best NCAA placement.
