Women’s Track and Field (2000-04)
A member of the Conference USA All-Decade Team in 2004-05, Dayana Octavien was a four-year standout throws specialist for USF from 2000-04. The 2008 Beijing Olympics competitor earned All-America honors twice, won seven C-USA titles and set three school records.
Octavien was a two-time All-American after qualifying for the NCAA Championships in both the hammer and discus events in 2004. She entered the 2004 outdoor NCAA meet as the second-best discus thrower in the country. Octavien won seven Conference USA titles in three events during her USF tenure – discus (2002-04, outdoor), weight throw (2003-04, indoor) and hammer (2003-04, outdoor).
Octavien was named the C-USA Athlete of the Year in three straight seasons (2003 outdoor, 2004 indoor and outdoor). Additionally, she was one of three Bulls to be named to the C-USA All-Decade Team in 2004-05.
The Naples, Fla., native first set the hammer throw record as just a freshman with her toss of 172-6. She improved upon that mark during her time in Tampa, closing out her career with a personal-best 209-10 throw in 2004 which still stands as the best at USF.
Along with the hammer throw record, Octavien also holds USF's top mark in the discus at 191-9 (2004) and the indoor weight throw at 69-9.5 (2004).
After wrapping up her stellar career at USF, Octavian continued her career professionally as an assistant coach for the Bulls’ track and field team from 2004-06. She also competed internationally, representing Haiti in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Octavien was inducted into the USF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013.
