Tampa, Fla. April 8, 2024 – University of South Florida track and field sprinter Abdul-Rasheed Saminu has been named the National Male Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
 
Saminu ran a program record and Division I NCAA-leading 9.95 time in the men's 100m dash on Friday at the South Florida Invitational in Tampa.
 
Just over 45 minutes later, Saminu lined up on the blocks for the men's 200m dash and set another program record to take first place. His 200m time (20.34), is the fifth-fastest Division I NCAA time this season.
 
Both times will most likely qualify Saminu for NCAA regionals in Lexington, Ky. May 22-25.
 
Saminu also competes on South Florida's 4x100m relay that currently holds the second-best time in Division I NCAA, (39.03).
 
The Olympic qualifying standard in the men's 100m dash is a 10.00 time. For the men's 200m, it is a 20.16 time.
 
"I want to see myself in the Olympics this year in Paris," Saminu said. "I want to represent my country, that is my biggest dream."
 
His times at the South Florida Invitational were wind-aided (+3.6 m/s in 100m dash and +3.3 m/s in 200m). Neither time is allowed to be wind-aided to be legal for the Olympic standards, so he will have to meet those times in races without wind to be considered by Ghana for the Paris Games this summer.
  
Saminu will have four more regular season meets, AAC Outdoor Championships, and NCAA Regionals to best his current times.
 
Head coach Erik Jenkins and Saminu will be available to the media in a press conference around 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday, April 9.

UP NEXT
The Bulls will head back up to Gainesville, Fla. for the Tom Jones Memorial Meet on April 12-13.
 
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The USF track and field men's team won the 2024 Indoor AAC Championship. Romaine Beckford won the 2023 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the men's high jump as a Bull. The 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. 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.
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