USF Athletics

USF Women's Teams Make Progress in Beginning of Jenkins Era

April 21, 2020

Editor's Note: Senior Writer Tom Zebold takes a look back at USF's memorable 2019-20 seasons in track and field along with cross country under the leadership of new head coach Erik Jenkins and his talented staff. This week's special two-part series starts off with a spotlight on shining achievements by the USF women's programs.
 
 
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, APRIL 21, 2020 – Exciting things happened in track and field/cross country for each of USF's teams under the leadership of new head coach Erik Jenkins.

Taking over a new program is never an easy task, especially when the first season is condensed, like the Bulls' 2019-20 campaign, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Still, super optimistic Jenkins and his talented staff found ways to get the most out of many Bulls who wanted to get better at their crafts. In the process, each of USF's teams made important progress that could lead to lots of future success.

"We came into a situation that we were extremely excited about," Jenkins said. "We believe that the University of South Florida has a tremendous upside."

Jenkins knows a lot about turning potential into program excellence. In the 11 seasons prior to becoming a Bull, the former Western Kentucky head coach led the Hilltoppers to 30 Sun Belt and Conference USA championships. During his coaching career, Jenkins has guided 84 All-Americans, 215 NCAA preliminary participants and 121 NCAA finals competitors.

This season, Jenkins and his seven-member support staff started their mission of transforming USF into a force in cross country and track and field for many years to come.

"I'm hoping that everybody we bring in will believe in my vision, my staff's vision and (Michael Kelly's) vision on down of where this program can go," Jenkins said. "We know we've got a very good educational system and we've got a very good, fast-moving athletic department. I'm excited. I don't see anywhere to go but forward."

In this special two-part series, let's take a look at both the men's and women's teams that make up the USF track and field/cross country programs and review shining accomplishments made by Jenkins' Bulls.

As always, ladies first.

Cross Country Sets the Tone
Coach Jenkins set parameters right away in the fall, when cross country kicked things off for the Bulls.

"We wanted our women's program to start being competitive from day one. You had to compete and show us that you wanted to be a person who could show up at meet time," he said. "Coach (Damon) Griffiths, who is our distance coach, followed my mandate and I thought he executed at a very quality level."

Giving student-athletes an honest chance to get better, several Bulls did just that and the result was the women's team finishing two places higher than the previous season at the American Athletic Conference Championship. Another notable feat from the meet was USF finishing ahead of rival UCF and earning six points in the War on I-4 standings.

"We want to compete within the conference and we want to compete at a national level," Jenkins said. "I think they did a good job, especially Alexandra (Weir) and Natalie (Walsh).

Both Bulls were just freshmen and Weir was USF's top performer for most of the season.

Weir placed 13th overall in the regular season finale at the FSU Invitational with a time of 18:08.9 in the 5K to register a new personal best. The Toronto native's previous top time (18:17.50) earned her a sixth-place finish on Sept. 14 at the Mountain Dew Invitational (Sept. 14). Weir was named AAC Female Runner of the Week after her first-place finish helped the Bulls capture the team title at the USF Invitational (Oct. 5).

Consistent Walsh jumped onto the college scene and finished 26th overall at the conference championship meet to become the first Bull since 2016 to place in the top 30. The Naperville, Ill., native also led the Bulls at the NCAA South Regional.

"I think we're going to continue to get better," Jenkins said. "We want to have a solid distance program, especially the middle distances."

Indoor Track and Field Highlights
USF's track and field season ended at the halfway point, but the Bulls certainly made the most of seven indoor meets.

Stephanie Lambeth stole the show in the season finale. The senior captured the pole vault individual title and registered the second-highest indoor height in school history at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship on Feb. 28.

The Frankenmuth, Mich., native achieved two personal bests on the way to winning the event with a height of 4.13 meters (13-6.50) in Birmingham, Ala. Early in the season, Lambeth produced different results at the same venue and showed coaches the type of character they're looking for in the program.

"We just continued to tell her, 'Listen, we're gonna do things a little different, but when it comes down to it, you'll be ready,'" Jenkins said. "For her to win the conference championship on that same track that she struggled on a little bit at the first meet was just the icing on the cake to a certain extent."

Adriana Janic's season was off to an amazing start after the senior achieved personal bests in six total events. The Malmo, Sweden native broke USF indoor records in the 60-meter hurdles (8.29) and pentathlon (3,906 points) in consecutive weeks and won nine different events this spring. She also matched the second-best high jump mark on the school's all-time chart (5-9.25).

To cap things off, Janic earned all-conference honors by finishing second in the heptathlon at AAC Indoors with a total of 3,867 points. During the event, she placed first in the 60-meter hurdles (8.48), 800 meters (2:20.05) and high jump (1.76m).

Shaneylix Davila (Kissimmee, Fla.) had a breakout indoor season, setting new personal bests in three different events, including the 60-meter hurdles (8.49). Accomplishing that feat earned the sophomore a trip to the conference championship finals.

"Coach (Abigi) Id-Deen did a really good job of just breaking her down and teaching her how to hurdle," Jenkins said. "She actually PR'd every weekend she competed in the hurdles."

Javonia Ellis (Lake Minneola, Fla.) also impressed by reaching personal records in four different events. The junior earned one point for USF at AAC Indoors by finishing eighth in the long jump with a distance of 5.83 meters.

Jenkins can't forget about cross-country leader Alexandra Weir (Toronto), who placed seventh in the mile run at AAC Indoors with a time of 5:01.81 to register two points for the Bulls. The freshman helped USF score another two points while competing on a distance medley relay team that included sophomore Alivia Bienz (Fort Pierce, Fla.) along with seniors Shenica Bazile (Naples, Fla.) and Natalie Walsh, another cross-country standout from Naperville, Ill.

"I was happy with the direction they're going, and I think that group wants to be good," Jenkins said. "Whenever you have people who aren't fighting the system, as we're trying to implement things, it tends to make it a little easier. We know where they are, but it's our job to continue to make them better."

All in all, Jenkins and his staff guided the women's team to 14 combined indoor event victories and two school records. Bulls tallied and seven top-10 marks in the school's all-time indoor record book. Five of those performances ranked on the program's top-five list.

"We had quite a few young ladies who did some good things," Jenkins said.
 
About USF Track and Field
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 11 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 hosted the 2018 NCAA Track and Field East Preliminary at the USF Track and Field Stadium.