Four University of South Florida men’s track and field athletes advanced to the quarterfinals on May 27 at the NCAA East First Rounds, held at the University of Kentucky Outdoor Track and Field Facility in Lexington, Kentucky.
Jaleel Croal qualified for the 100-meter quarterfinals with a time of 10.18 seconds, finishing 16th overall. Croal also placed 13th in the 200 meters with a time of 20.47 seconds. Kelsey Singleton secured a spot in the 400-meter quarterfinals by posting a time of 45.72 seconds, placing him 21st, while Nathan Metelus finished in 45th place with a time of 46.94 seconds.
In hurdles competition, Darian Mills recorded a personal-best time of 50.21 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles to finish in 12th place and move on to Friday’s quarterfinal round. Joshua Crum also advanced after clocking a time of 50.79 seconds in his heat. Devontie Archer completed his race with a time of 52.82 seconds but did not advance.
Nikodem Pochopien cleared a height of 5.05 meters in pole vault for a final standing at No. 23, while Payton Pitts did not record an official mark during competition.
Looking ahead, Doris Quainoo is scheduled to compete Thursday evening in the first round of the women’s 100-meter hurdles, and Esteisy Salas Lozano will participate later that night in shot put qualifying rounds.
Erik Jenkins is serving his seventh season as head coach for USF track and field. The Bulls’ relay team—Devontie Archer, Alexavier Monfries, Corey Ottey and Gabriel Moronta—won a national title at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships with a program-record performance that contributed to their top-15 team finish nationally; nine athletes earned All-America honors this past season from USF’s roster including Kobe Babin, Devontie Archer, Alexavier Monfries, Corey Ottey, Gabriel Moronta, Shomari Pettigrew, Jaleel Croal, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu and Vincent Ugwoke.
University of South Florida Athletics has produced Olympians representing multiple countries and has captured national championships across several sports, according to the official website.
