USF Athletics

Beckford Wins AAC Indoor High Jump Championship as Multiple Earn Podium Finishes

February 26, 2022

Tampa, Fla., Feb. 26, 2022 – University of South Florida track and field student-athlete Romaine Beckford took home the American Athletic Conference Indoor High Jump Championship by breaking his own school record, while Shaniya Benjamin was named the AAC Indoor Freshman of the Year. Overall, 11 Bulls earned a top-three finish on the last day of the conference championship meet. 
 
"As a whole, we were a lot more competitive today and gave ourselves a chance to be successful," head coach Erik Jenkins said. "We managed the meet better and the individual results showed. Another school record fell and many season best were achieved in the championship meet. I believe we are positioned for more team success in the future."

The women had the highest team finish and most points scored in AAC indoor history, while the men tied the highest finish in indoor history while scoring the second most points in AAC history. 
 
Beckford (Portland, Jamaica) posted a leap of 2.20 meters (7-2.50) to earn the high jump individual title, which is currently ranked twelfth in the nation. Kendell Mosley (Niceville, Fla.) and David Ajama (Lowell, Mass.) posted fifth and sixth place finishes with jumps of 2.03 meters (6-8). Ajama earned a bronze medal in the triple jump with a leap of 15.33 meters (50-3.50), scoring in his third event of the meet.
 
Victor Steiner (La Libertao, El Salvador) earned a third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.16 seconds, while Bourne III finished fourth at 8.44 seconds. Tyler Dunigan (Sarasota, Fla.) finished sixth in the men's 60 with a time of 6.84 seconds.
 
Connell finished fourth in both the 60-meter dash (7.47 seconds) and the 200-meter dash (23.91 seconds) while Kadesha Prescott finished seventh in the 60-meter dash. Annia Ashley (Kingston, Jamaica) finished fourth in the high jump with a mark of 1.71m (5-7.25). 
 
Benjamin, after winning the AAC Indoor Long Jump Championship yesterday, joined the women's 4x400 meter relay team alongside Zahria Allers-Liburd (Miami, Fla.), Hannah Connell (Bridgetown, Barbados) and Shaneylix Davila (Kissimmee, Fla.) to pick up a third-place finish in the event with a time of 3:41.11. 
 
The men's 4x400 team of Elijah Wright (Naples, Fla.), Joshua St. Clair (Trinidad and Tobago), Michael Bourne III (Midlothian, Va.) and Monte Parker (Plantation, Fla.) took second with a time of 3:14.47. 
 
Shaniya Benjamin was named the AAC Indoor Freshman of the Year, for being the most outstanding freshman of the AAC meet.
 
About USF Track and Field
The USF track and field team has earned 53 All-America selections and at least one All-American in 10 of the last 12 years, including a record eight athletes claiming 11 honors in 2021. Tampa native Shaniya Benjamin set a program record earning three All-American honors during the 2021 outdoor season, while triple jumper Matthew O'Neal, a 2016 graduate, became USF's first six-time NCAA All-American. Bulls have posted two NCAA runner-up finishes since 2013 - O'Neal (triple jump, 2016) and Courtney Anderson (high jump, 2013). Head coach Erik Jenkins took over the program in 2020 and in the 2021 outdoor season the Bulls posted seven program records and 40 top 10 all-time program marks. USF hosted the 2018 NCAA Track and Field East Preliminary and the 2021 AAC Outdoor Championship at the USF Track and Field Stadium located on the east end of campus. 
– #GoBulls –