Carbondale, Ill. - The University of South Florida women's track and field team opened the indoor season on a successful note as the Bulls took home two first-place finishes Friday at the Saluki Fast Start Track and Field Meet at the SIU Recreational Center on the campus of Southern Illinois University.
Senior Stephanie Duffy took first in the pole vault, while junior Monique Williams captured the title in the long jump. As a whole, USF grabbed a total of six top-five finishes on the day to open the 2010-11 indoor season. Team scores were not kept in this weekend's action.
Duffy cleared the 13-00.75 mark to claim the pole vault title, followed by sophomore Nicole Smith with an 11-7 clearance, giving her a fourth-place finish in the event. Williams, who placed in three different events, opened the indoor season with a personal-best 19-11.75 in the long jump to take the crown.
Williams, a sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla., also finished seventh in the 60-meter dash and eighth in the triple jump with marks of 7.83 and 39-7, respectively. Her 7.83 in the 60 was a personal best. Finishing one-hundredth of a second ahead of Williams was Dariel Jackson, who clocked in at 7.82 for sixth place.
Junior Shambrey Oliver, who made her indoor debut, rounded out the USF field in the 60, crossing the line just behind her teammates with an 8.00 clocking for ninth. Jackson led the pack for the Bulls in the 200-meter dash, taking fifth place with a time of 25.45. Freshman Christine Poole-Trice finished right behind Jackson in her collegiate debut with a sixth-place finish, clocking in at 25.52.
Another newcomer to the Bulls' team is freshman Samantha Specht, who finished 16th in her collegiate debut with a time of 26.59 in the 200, followed by Oliver with a 26.88 mark.
In the 400 meters, two Bulls appeared in the finals as Poole-Trice and Natalie Fisher finished seventh and 17th, respectively. The freshman from Tallahassee, Fla., clocked in at 58.59, while Fisher finished in a time of 1:01.33.
Sophomore Courtney Anderson was one of three Bulls to finish among the top three in an event as she took third in the high jump, clearing 5-5. She was followed by Alex Rosenberger and Fisher, who tied for sixth place, with each of them clearing 5-3.
Joining Williams in the triple jump final was freshman Marqueshia Stallworth, who made her collegiate debut with a seventh-place finish, with a mark of 38-7.75, barely beating out her teammate. The strength of Lauren Noe showed itself as the junior finished the weight throw in fifth place with a heave of 59-8.50.
The Bulls will take a break from competition due to final exams and the winter holidays. They will return to action on Jan. 14, when they travel to Grand Rapids, Mich., to face off with Grand Valley State in the men's first indoor meet of the season and the women's second.
