O'Neal Tries for National Championship Friday
June 08, 2016 | Track & Field
MEET: NCAA Championships
DATE: June 10 | 8:30 p.m. ET
LOCATION: Eugene, Ore. | Hayward Field
TV: ESPN | ESPN3 | Coverage starts at 8:30 p.m. ET
FOLLOW: Meet Central | Schedule | Heats | Live Results
EUGENE, Ore., JUNE 8, 2016 – Senior Matthew O'Neal will attempt to become USF's first national champion in 23 years when he competes in the men's triple jump on Friday at 8:30 p.m. in Eugene, Ore.
The Jackson, Miss., native enters the competition at Historic Hayward Field with the best jump of anyone in the 24-person field. O'Neal jumped a lifetime best of 55 feet, 9.75 inches (17.01m) at the NCAA East Preliminary on May 30 in Jacksonville, which currently stands as the third-best wind-aided (+3.0) time in the world.
Stepping onto collegiate track and field's biggest stage is nothing new for O'Neal. It will be his fourth consecutive year making it to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, joining Jimmy Baxter (2001-04, high jump) as the only ones in program history to qualify every year of eligibility. O'Neal was ninth in 2013 as a freshman, fourth in 2014 as sophomore and ninth in 2015 as a junior.
O'Neal will need just one recorded jump to become the first six-time All-American in USF Athletics history. He is currently tied with Kerine Black, who was a five-time All-American from 1999-2001. O'Neal is also vying to become USF's first national champion since Jon Dennis, who won the men's 5K in 1992 and repeated in 1993. The only other USF individual national champion is Michelle Scarborogh in women's rifle, who won titles in 1989 and 1990.
One of the 23 O'Neal will have to go through to win the title is the only collegiate athlete that has defeated him this year. During the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 12, junior Clive Pullen of Arkansas (54-7.25) beat out O'Neal (54-5.50) for the triple jump title by 1.75 inches. During the outdoor season, O'Neal held the longest collegiate jump for all, but two weeks. Those two weeks saw Pullen with the top jump after a leap of 55-0.75 (16.78m) at the SEC Championships on May 14, before O'Neal took the honor on May 30.
ESPN begins its coverage of the NCAA Track and Field Championships at 8:30 p.m. ET. O'Neal is in the second of two heats. The top nine advance to the final and get three more jumps.
THE O'NEAL FILE
School Record-Holder - outdoor triple jump, 55-9.75; indoor triple jump, 54-8.
World Ranking - as of June 8, 55-7.75 (17.01m) ranked as the third-best wind-aided (+3.0) mark in the world. His best non-wind-aided mark of 54-11.50 (16.75m) ranks 26th in the world according to iaaf.org.
Five-Time NCAA All-American in Triple Jump - 2013 (outdoor, placed ninth); 2014 (outdoor, placed fourth); 2015 (indoor, placed sixth); 2015 (outdoor, placed ninth); 2016 (indoor, placed second)
Six-Time Conference Champion in Triple Jump - 2013 (outdoor, Big East); 2013 (indoor, Big East); 2014 (outdoor, American Athletic); 2015 (indoor, American Athletic); 2016 (indoor, American Athletic); 2016 (outdoor, American Athletic).
American Athletic Conference Second Team - long jump (2016, outdoor).
American Athletic Conference Third Team - triple jump (2014, indoor); long jump (2016, indoor).
Nine-Time All-Conference (five indoor/four outdoor) - did not compete in the 2015 outdoor championships due to injury.
THE FIELD
1 O'Neal, Matthew SR South Florida 17.01m
2 White, Tim JR Ariz State 16.43m
3 Collie, Latario SR Texas A&M 16.37m
4 Leap, Brian SR Penn State 16.37m
5 Johnson, Shawn SR Auburn 16.36m
6 Warren, John SO Missouri 16.27m
7 Obi, Felix SR Baylor 16.24m
8 Ghent, Marcus SR FIU 16.21m
9 Bates, KeAndre SO Florida 16.17m
10 Williams, Ben JR Louisville 16.16m
11 Carodine, Tony SR Missouri 16.14m
12 Pullen, Clive JR Arkansas 16.09m
13 Brown, Charles FR Texas Tech 16.05m
14 Friday, John-Patrick SR Miami 16.04m
15 Culmer, Kaiwan SO Nebraska 15.97m
16 Prothro, Jeffrey JR Texas A&M 15.96m
17 Tolbert, Donovan SR Kent State 15.96m
18 Reddick, EJ SR Charleston South 15.91m
19 Dixon, Josh SR Ariz State 15.90m
20 Collie, Lathone SR Texas A&M 15.90m
21 Smith, Phillip JR Mid. Tenn. State 15.86m
22 Green, Shane SR Coppin State 15.85m
23 Newton, Scotty SO TCU 15.85m
24 Plummer, Bobby JR Cornell 15.81m
Led by 10th-year head coach Warren Bye, the USF track and field team has produced 21 All-Americans (eight men, 13 women) since 2000 and at least one All-American in eight of the last nine years. Senior Matthew O'Neal is a five-time All-American in the triple jump. USF is home to the 2018 NCAA Track and Field East Preliminary.
