Indoor track and field team begins year at UF

The USF women’s indoor track and field team kicked off the 2002 season Saturday at the Florida Intercollegiates in Gainesville. The Bulls were unable to come up with a win against their in-state rivals but earned several top-10 finishes.

Kristy Fuller, second in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 9 minutes, 55.68 seconds, had the best individual finish for USF. Tara Quinn and Christa Benton placed third and fifth, respectively, in the same race. Cori Kill’s time of 5:08.07 was good for third place in the mile run, beating teammates Tiffany Quinn (fifth), Stacey Havaich (sixth) and Lizzy Leigh (10th).

The 4×800-meter relay team finished second (9:20.59), 12 seconds behind Florida and half a minute ahead of North Florida. The 4×400-meter team placed fifth.

Carmen Crespo was the best Bull in the field events, earning third place with a height of 1.65 meters in the final of the high jump. USF record holder Alexis McGaffagan was sixth, while Brandi Douglas tied for ninth. In the weight throw, Dayana Octavien placed ninth with a throw of 16.95 in the final.

Other top-10 finishers for USF were Kristina West (seventh in the pole vault), Chandra Brewer (fourth in the shot put), Amber Delpino (10th in the 400 meters), Austrea Wilkins and Symone Whittaker (seventh and ninth, respectively, in the 55-meter hurdles).

Football team hands out hardware

Quarterback Marquel Blackwell and linebacker Anthony Williams were named Most Valuable Players for Offense and Defense, respectively, at the USF football team’s award ceremony Saturday night in the Special Events Center.

Blackwell, a junior, set numerous records as he led USF’s pass-happy offense in the 2001 season. He was also named Player of the Week by College Football News and USA Today after the Bulls stunned Pittsburgh 35-26 on Sept. 8. Blackwell finished the season with 258 of 456 passes completed for 2,882 yards and 20 touchdowns, and he also ran for nine touchdowns.

Williams, a defensive co-captain last season, became only the second Bull – after teammate Kawika Mitchell – to reach the 100-tackle mark in a season. The senior totaled 102 tackles, including 57 solo stops and six tackles for a loss.

Lineman Shurron Pierson was named Rookie of the Year after setting the single-season sack mark with 10.5. Receiver Hugh Smith and safety J.R. Reed won the Offensive and Defensive Playmaker awards, respectively.

Bulls cheer against country’s best

A team of USF cheerleaders competed at the College Cheerleading and Dance National Championship at Walt Disney World during the weekend.

In the All-Girl Stunt division, USF placed third, the best placing for the Bulls in the championship. The Coed Division IA team came in eighth, and the Bulls finished fifth in the All-Girl Division I competition.

  • Staff Report