Tampa, Fla., Feb. 22, 2024 – The University of South Florida track and field team travels to Birmingham, Ala. for the two-day American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships. On the men's side, two athletes rank in the NCAA's top 50 for the 60-meter dash, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu is ranked 16th with a top time of 6.61, while teammate Jaleel Croal is 46th in the country with a top time of 6.66. In the 200-meter dash, Shevioe Reid ranks 11th with a time of 20.67, and Zayquan Lincoln sits 46th (20.95). The South Florida men's 4x400 team is ranked 34th in the NCAA with a time of 3:07.59. Goodness Iredia sits 15th (15.92m) in the country in the triple jump. For the women, South Florida's 4x400 team has the top time in the conference and 30^th best time in the nation at 3:35.19. 

Day one of the meet begins Friday with the women's pentathlon. At 9:00 a.m. Madeline Abega and Antonia Sealy will start with the 60m hurdles, then move to the high jump at 9:45 a.m., followed by the shot put at 11:30 a.m., the long jump at 12:45 p.m., and the 800m at 2:00 p.m.

Field events kick off at noon with the men's high jump trials and final following, featuring Elisha Teneus-Claude, Kendell Mosley, and Goodness Iredia. Those three will also compete in the men's long jump trials at 4:00 p.m. with the final following. The women's long jump will be at 2:00 p.m. and see Shaniya Benjamin, Nischa King, and Annia Ashley compete, with the final following.

The men's pole vault trials featuring Kobe Babin, Noah Bitter, and Andreas Kreiss will begin at noon, with the final following. Ella Dolce, Madeline Dutz, and Riley Hunt will compete in the women's pole vault trials at 3:30 p.m. with the final following.

At 2:15 p.m. Aidan Marsh and Vincent Ugwoke will compete in the men's shot put trials with the final following. The women's weight throw trials will be at 4:15 p.m. and will feature Alliya Boothe and Alexandria Hunter.

Track events will begin at 1:35 p.m. with the women's 400m trials featuring Je'Nyia Burton, Terren Peterson, Zahria Allers-Liburd, and Amenda Saint-Louis. The women's finals will take place Saturday at 1:25 p.m. and will be in two sections. The men's 400m trials are at 1:50 p.m. Friday and will include Shevioe Reid, Tre'Sean Bouie, Daunte O'Banion, Aidan Dixon, Nathan Metelus, and Devontie Archer. The men's finals will take place at 1:35 p.m. Saturday and be in two sections. 

The women's 60m hurdles trials are slated for 2:05 p.m. Friday and will feature Abega, Gianna Hansen, and Chakiya Plummer. The final will be 12:45 p.m. on Saturday. The men's 60m hurdles trials will begin at 2:15 p.m. Friday and feature Michael Bourne III, Darian Mills, Tyler Drew, and Markel Jones. The men's final will be Saturday at 12:55 p.m.

The women's 60m dash trials will take place at 2:25 p.m. Friday and see Shaniya Benjamin, Lynette Scutari, and Hansen race. The final will take place at 1:05 p.m. Saturday. The men's 60m dash trials will be at 2:35 p.m. Friday and include Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, Jermaine Dyges, Shomari Pettigrew, Zayquan Lincoln, Jaleel Croal, and JeyQuan Smith. The men's final will occur at 1:15 p.m. Saturday.

The women's 800m trials will be at 2:50 p.m. Friday and include Arden La-Rose. The finals will be on Saturday at 1:25 p.m. Saturday. The men's 800m trials will follow at 3:05 p.m. Friday and include Thomas Ashley, Karim Belmahdi, Jesse Benavides, and Gabriel Moronta. The finals will be on Saturday at 1:35 p.m.

The women's 200m trials will be at 3:20 p.m. on Friday and will see Allers-Liburd, Benjamin, Burton, and Peterson race. The final will be at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday and be in two sections. The men's 200m trials will be at 3:35 p.m. Friday and will have Saminu, Croal, Dyges, Lincoln, Metelus, Pettigrew, and Reid race. The finals will be on Saturday at 1:55 p.m. and be in two sections.

The men and women will both participate in a distance medley relay at the end of Friday, with the women going at 5:20 p.m. and the men at 5:40 p.m.

Saturday the field will finish up their competition, starting with the women's high jump trials at 10:30 a.m., and feature Molie Jean Baptiste and Annia Ashley, with the final following. 

The men's shot put trials will be at 10:45 a.m. and feature Marsh and Ugwoke, with the finals following. The women's shot put trials will be at 1:15 p.m. and see Boothe, Hunter, and Jasmyn James compete, with the finals following.

The women's triple jump trials will take place at 11:45 a.m. and feature Ashley, Mimansa Dahiya, and Ryan Lewis competing. The finals will follow. The men's triple jump trials will be at 1:45 p.m. and see Iredia and Teneus-Claude compete, the final will follow.

Saturday Track will mainly consist of final races for events that held trials Friday. The Bulls also traveled Catalina Edwards, Hailey Cohen, and Victoria Valdez to run the women's 3,000m at 2:05 p.m., while the men will see Belmahdi and Tyler Wadsworth compete in the men's at 2:20 p.m. 

The meet will conclude on Saturday with the 4x400m relays. The women will run at 3:25 p.m., while the men will follow at 3:35 p.m. Then the Award ceremony will be held.

After the AAC Indoor Championships, the Bulls will send their distance runners to the Tampa Distance Classic next Saturday, March 2 at the University of Tampa. Then the following week will be the NCAA Indoor Championships March 8-9 in Boston, Mass.

About USF Track and Field
The USF track and field team has earned 56 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. Romaine Beckford won the 2023 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the men's high jump. 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 –