The USF men's track and field program went back-to-back last season, capturing the American Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor team championships.

Earlier this season, the Bulls repeated as AAC indoor team champions.

With USF heading to the AAC outdoor championships — set for Thursday through Saturday at Charlotte, N.C. — an obvious question has emerged:

Can the Bulls go back-to-back … again?

"Winning is hard,'' head coach Erik Jenkins said. "There's nothing easy about it. There are no guarantees in any championship environment. So we have to take advantage of every opportunity presented to us.

"It always comes back to the athletes and putting them in a position to be successful. That means showing up on time, working hard, being available for what's asked of you and really wanting to be successful. I believe we have a lot of those type of people. Now it's a matter of showing up and performing.''

The USF men made a powerful statement last season, scoring 217 points (second-most in AAC outdoor championships history) and capturing first-place in 10 events.

Meanwhile, the USF women are hopeful of building toward championship contention. The Bulls finished third in last season's outdoor championships — the best AAC performance in program history — to improve upon the fourth-place mark in 2023.

By all indications, the USF men are poised for another notable showing. 

The Bulls have the AAC's top-ranked time or distance in seven events, including the 100 meters (Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, 9.87w); 200 meters (Nathan Metelus, Jaleel Croal and Alexavier Monfries, all at 20.60); 400 meters (Gabriel Moronta, 45.31); 4x100 relay (38.66); 4x400 relay (3:02.13); pole vault (Nikodem Pochopien, 5.22 meters); and the discus (Vincent Ugwoke, 63.72 meters).

Additionally, the Bulls will have championship contenders in the 100 meters (Croal, 10.05); 200 meters (Saminu, 20.96); 800 meters (Karim Belmahdi, 1:48.54); 110 hurdles (Markel Jones, 13.66); 400 hurdles (Devontie Archer, 50.25); pole vault (Andreas Kreiss, 5.21 meters, and Noah Bitter, 5.06); triple jump (Javon Brown, 15.42 meters); and the shot put (Jason Nwosu, 17.90 meters)

"I think more people are noticing us since we're put together some wins here and there, but we aspire to doing it over and over again at the highest level,'' Jenkins said. "We want to be here to stay and you do that by controlling what you can do and putting yourself in position to consistently compete for championships.

"When we got here, we talked about competing for championships and building a national presence. We want success at the national level and also the international level. We had a couple of Olympians last summer. But at the end of the day, it's a track meet, just like it's a football game or a baseball game. Everything starts at zero. Nobody cares what we did at  indoors or outdoors last year. Every time we step on that track, we've got to give our best effort and be the best at competing on that day. It always takes a collective effort.''

The USF women have the AAC's top-ranked time in three events, including the 400 meters (Rushana Dwyer, 52.30); 100 hurdles (Doris Quainoo, 13.32); and the 4x400 relay (3:29.07).

Other Bulls to watch include Quainoo (100 meters, 11.51); Terren Peterson (200 meters, 23.15, and 400 meters, 52.97); Amenda Saint Louis (800 meters, 2:09.61); Tyra Thomas (100 hurdles, 13.41); Madeline Abega (400 hurdles, 57.78); Chakiya Plummer (400 hurdles, 58.45); 4x100 relay (44.36); Tristen Evatt (long jump, 6.07 meters); and Annalee Harbison (hammer, 54.64 meters).

"Our women have to take the same approach as our men — and I believe they will,'' Jenkins said. "Every throw, every step, every jump — it all means something. Indoors, most people didn't think our women could be in the top half. Well, we finished fourth in a pretty tight finish (first through fourth was separated by 13 points). 

"Now everything starts at zero at these conference meets, no matter what you have done, and we definitely have some young ladies who are capable of performing at a high level.''