Tampa, Fla. May 26, 2024 – The South Florida Track and Field has concluded a historic performance at the NCAA East First Round in Lexington, Ky.

The team brought 28 athletes (and five additional relay alternates) to Lexington to compete in 22 events, and are leaving town with a program record nine NCAA Championship qualifiers. The most ever for an Erik Jenkins-coached program.

Each individual region (East and West) allocates 12 NCAA Championship qualifier spots per event. To punch a ticket to Eugene, Ore., an athlete must earn a top 12 mark within their region's Quarterfinal event.

The women booked their ticket to Eugene in the final event of the meet, the 4x400m relay, setting a program record with the seventh-best qualifying time.

The Bulls' men's team has two athletes who qualified for three events each, Shevioe Reid and Abdul-Rasheed Saminu. Saminu will compete in the 100m dash, 200m dash, and 4x100m relay Championships. Reid will compete in the 200m dash, 4x100m relay, and 4x400m relay Championships.

South Florida also had two men who qualified for two events each, Devontie Archer and Jaleel Croal. Archer will compete in the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay Championships. Croal will compete in the 200m dash and 4x100m relay Championships.

For the first time in program history, South Florida will send both men's relay teams (4x100m and 4x400m) to NCAA track and field's biggest stage. The Bulls will also send three men's 200m dash qualifiers for the first time in program history.

WOMEN'S QUARTERFINALS RUNDOWN
In the final event of the weekend, the Bulls were looking for one final ticket to Eugene. Shaniya Benjamin, Zahria Allers-Liburd, Terren Peterson, and Amenda Saint Louis lined in the 4x400m relay Quarterfinals. The relay group ran a program record time (3:29.37) to finish seventh, punching South Florida's ninth and final ticket to the NCAA Championships.

Allers-Liburd, Peterson, Lynette Scutari, and Benjamin, finished 16th (44.15) in the 4x100m relay Quarterfinals.

Allers-Liburd also ran in the 200m dash Quarterfinal and finished 19th (23.40).

Jasmyn James finished 21st in the discus throw (51.51m / 169' – 0"). This was a personal best for James and the third-best throw distance in women's program history.

Mimansa Dahiya finished 38th (12.31m / 40' – 4.75") in the triple jump, and Ryan Lewis finished 45th (11.99m / 39 – 4.0").

MEN'S QUARTERFINALS RUNDOWN
Zayquan Lincoln, Croal, Reid, and Saminu began the Friday helping the Bulls officially book their second ticket to Eugene for the NCAA Championships. The four men finished with the fastest time in their 4x100m relay heat (38.64), earning them an automatic qualification. The time was the second-fastest overall in the Quarterfinal.

About 90 minutes later, Saminu booked his second NCAA Championship ticket, earning an automatic qualification after finishing third in heat three of the 100m dash Quarterfinals. His time (10.06) was the second-fastest wind-legal time of his Division I career and the eighth-fastest of the event.

Devontie Archer continued his hot streak, coming off an outdoor AAC championship in the 400m hurdles last meet. Archer finished 10th in 400m hurdles (50.22), punching the Bulls' fourth ticket to the NCAA Championships.

The Bulls had three runners in the 200m dash Quarterfinal, all members of the 4x100m relay team, Croal, Saminu, and Reid. All three qualified for the NCAA Championships, Reid finished 10th (20.32), Saminu 11th (20.36), and Croal 12th (20.38). Previously, South Florida had never had two sprinters qualify for this event at once. This year they will have a program record three in the 200m dash Championship, as the men's team punched their fifth, sixth, and seventh tickets to Eugene.

The Bulls punched their eighth ticket to Oregon with their first-ever 4x400m relay NCAA Championship berth. Tre'Sean Bouie, Reid, Archer, and Nathan Metelus finished second in their heat with the sixth-best overall qualifying time (3:02.44).

Having already earned the Bulls' first NCAA Championship berth of the outdoor season with Wednesday's third-place finish (7.75m / 25' -5.25") in the long jump, Goodness Iredia competed Friday in the triple jump. Iredia finished 17th overall, with his best jump coming at 15.68m (51' – 5.50"), just 0.09m (0' – 3.54") shy of qualifying for the triple jump NCAA Championship.

Vincent Ugwoke finished 13th in the First Round discus throw, with his best throw coming at 56.21m (184'-5.0"). He narrowly missed the cut to qualify for Eugene by 0.12m (0' - 4.72").

Bouie finished 18th in the 400m dash Quarterfinal, running the fifth-fastest time of heat three (46.54).

Kendell Mosley finished tied for 28th in the First Round high jump, with his highest clearance coming at 2.09m (6 '- 10.25").

UP NEXT
This concludes the competition at the NCAA East First Round. The next competition for the Bulls will be at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. June 5th.

ABOUT USF TRACK AND FIELD
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The USF track and field men's team won the 2024 Indoor and Outdoor 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.
– #GoBulls –