USF Athletics

Wilson Wins Hammer Throw During Busy Week for USF Track and Field

March 30, 2018

TAMPA, MARCH 31, 2018 – The USF track and field team wrapped up a busy week on Saturday after participating in three different meets in two states. The Bulls had representatives at the prestigious Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, which began on Wednesday and wrapped up Friday for USF student-athletes. While in Texas, the Bulls' throwers have made the short trek from Austin to the Bobcat Invitational, hosted by Texas State, which started on Friday and finished on Saturday. Finally, the Bulls also sent a contingent of five student-athletes to Gainesville, Fla. for the Pepsi Florida Relays.

The week was a successful one for the Bulls, as the team posted an event victory and had seven marks on the USF outdoor top-10 charts over the three meets. Junior Ashley Wilson (Tampa) won the women's hammer throw at the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas, on Friday. She posted a mark of 176-5.00 in the event and cleared the second place finisher by more than four feet.

Saturday Update from the Bobcat Invitational

Freshman Brittany Krug (Edensburg, Pa.) posted an impressive mark on Saturday for the Bulls at Texas State, taking second in the women's javelin with a mark of 146-4.00. The throw is the fourth-best ever in USF history and is a new career best.

Results from the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays
Freshman Kaitlyn Kirby (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) was the first Bull to compete this week, taking part in the heptathlon on Wednesday and Thursday in Austin. Kirby finished ninth in the heptathlon with a score of 5,163. Kirby's score is the second-best heptathlon score in USF outdoor history, falling 24 points short of the school record. Kirby's best event was the long jump, where she finished fifth with a mark of 18-11.75. She also finished seventh in the shot put with a mark of 38-6.25.

The Texas Relays continued on Friday for the Bulls, where three different USF runners posted new career bests.Sophomore Curtis Thomas (Auburndale, Fla.) got it started by winning his heat in the men's 100 meters with a time of 10.50 seconds. The mark vaults Thomas into a tie for fifth place all-time on the USF outdoor charts. Thomas finished 31^st out of 96 finishers in the event.

Junior Chelsea Francis (Jacksonville, Fla.) also turned in a personal record on Friday, running a time of 11.55 seconds in the women's 100 meters. Francis moves into a tie for fourth on the USF outdoor top-10 charts. She finished 18^th overall out of 110 runners in the event.

Senior Rachael O'Neil (Seattle, Wash.) was the final competitor for the Bulls on Friday in Austin, competing in the women's 100 meter hurdles and posting a time of 13.92 seconds. The mark is the eighth-best time in USF outdoor history. O'Neil finished 35^th overall in the event out of a field of 85 runners.

Result from the Pepsi Florida Relays
The Bulls also got started in Gainesville on Friday. Freshman Rania Samhouri (Tampa) impressed once again in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, setting a new personal best with a time of 11:10.57. The mark shaves nearly 18 seconds off her previous personal best, set last weekend in the Bulls Invitational. Samhouri also moves up a spot on the USF all-time outdoor top-10, from ninth to eighth.

Other Notable Performances

• HAMMER THROW (BOBCAT INVITATIONAL): Senior Zach Diaczynsky (Naples, Fla.) set a new personal best with a mark of 182-9.75 in the men's hammer throw at the Bobcat Invitational on Friday. The mark is good for fourth-best on the USF outdoor charts.
• 4X100 METER RELAYS (TEXAS RELAYS): The USF 4x100 meter relay team of Shenica Bazile, Chelsea Francis, Destiny Fairley and Jada Massie finished 12^th out of 45 teams with a time of 46.00 seconds on Friday.
• 100 METERS (TEXAS RELAYS): Junior Jada Massie (Bradenton, Fla.) finished 26^th out of 110 runners in the women's 100 meters, turning in a time of 11.72 seconds on Friday in Austin.

Up Next
The Bulls have a weekend off before resuming the regular season outdoor schedule at the Tom Jones Invitational, hosted by the University of Florida, in Gainesville on April 13. Three more regular season outdoor meets remain before the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships in Cincinnati on May 11-13.

About USF Track and Field
Warren Bye, the USF track and field team has produced 22 All-America selections since 2008 and at least one All-American in nine of the last 10 years. 2016 graduate Matthew O'Neal is USF's first six-time NCAA All-American. USF has posted two NCAA runner-up finishes since 2013 - O'Neal (triple jump, 2016) and Courtney Anderson (high jump, 2013). The Bulls are home to the 2018 NCAA Track and Field East Preliminary.