USF races into NCAA history with relay title
USF track and field had ventured over 3,000 miles to compete in the NCAA outdoor national championships in Eugene, Oregon.
With the lights high on Saturday evening, four men in black and green stepped onto the track with program history within reach.
The Bulls’ men’s 4×400 relay team contended for a national title in the final race of the event — and won the title. The quartet consisted of junior’s Devontie Archer and Corey Ottey, and senior’s Alexavier Monfries and Gabriel Moronta.
Head coach Erik Jenkins said the team’s character and commitment were on full display throughout the meet, culminating in a performance that reflected their season-long growth.
“This is a monumental moment for our program and these young men earned every bit of it,” Jenkins said in a press release.
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From the gun, they completed the relay with consistent pacing and clean baton exchanges across all four legs. Monfries and Moronta delivered the two fastest splits of the final — 44.11 and 44.23 seconds, respectively.
As Moronta rounded the final curve, USF wasn’t just in the lead, it was surging toward a moment that would rewrite the record books and tilt the balance of the national championship.
The Bulls crossed the finish line with a time of 3:00.42, beating their own school record and claiming the program’s first-ever national title in the event.
With the win, USF vaulted to 14th place in the team standings, ahead of traditional powerhouses like Oregon and Tennessee.
The Bulls’ success however, was not limited to the relay.
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South Florida arrived in Eugene earlier in the week with 14 national qualifiers, the largest group in program history, and entered the outdoor championships ranked No. 5 in the men’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national poll.
Among the names making waves was Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, who at the championship claimed First-Team All-American honors in the 200m dash with a time of 20.55 and Second-Team All-American honors in the 100m dash after posting a time of 10.11.
His teammate Jaleel Croal earned Second-Team All-American status in the 200m (20.58s) and honorable mention in the 100m (10.38).
The team finished 14th overall with 18 points, its highest placement at the national meet to date.
USF’s relay teams entered the championship , clocking 38.05 seconds in the 4×100-meter relay and 3:01.52 in the 4×400-meter relay, both program bests.
Those times positioned USF competitively entering the final race of the meet, where the team recorded its strongest performance of the championship.
The victory didn’t just cap off a historic meet for the Bulls — it reshaped the national leaderboard.
The win in the 4x400m forced a tie for the national championship between Texas A&M and USC, denying either juggernaut sole ownership of the crown.
CORRECTIONS: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the date of the men’s 4×400 title race. It was Saturday, June 14. Alexavier Monfries’ first name was also misspelled. The Bulls’ made program history. An earlier version of the story misstated the event’s significance.
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