The University of South Florida (USF) track and field program is beginning its 2026 indoor season with participation in two separate meets this weekend. Some athletes will compete at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday and Saturday, while others will participate at the Legends of Alachua County Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, on Saturday.
At the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational, running events—except for the 60m dash and 60m hurdles—will be conducted as sections against time finals. Field event seeding follows NCAA guidelines, with top-seeded flights scheduled last. The 200m and 400m races are split into multiple sections based on entry marks; the top-seeded section of the 400m takes place Saturday. The 800m runs are also seeded by entry marks, with women competing from slow to fast and men from fast to slow. Preliminary rounds for the 60m dash and hurdles will determine finalists.
For the Legends of Alachua County Invitational, all running events except for the 60m dash and hurdles will be run as heats against time finals. The fastest-seeded heat competes first. In college horizontal jumps and throws, nine qualifiers advance to finals based on TFRRS marks from recent seasons.
Thirty-one USF athletes (17 women and 14 men) are set to compete in Louisville across 36 individual events and two relays. Seventeen Bulls (eight women and nine men) will represent USF in Gainesville on Saturday only.
Notable entries at both meets include Tristen Evatt, Kenniyah Guischard-Yearwood, Nischa King in women’s long jump; Alesandro Cardoso-Williams and Simone Menchini in men’s long jump; Lilah Versluis in women’s high jump; LaQuan Ellis in men’s triple jump; Devontie Archer, Nathan Metelus, Alexavier Metelus among others in men’s 400m dash; Mercy Angaamchaab, Sa’Nijah Houston leading women’s 800m participants; Markel Jones entered for men’s hurdles; Gabriella Keefer among those competing in sprints; Ella Dolce leads pole vault entries at Gainesville.
The USF men’s track team recently secured back-to-back American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships (2024–2025), as well as a conference outdoor title in 2024. Ten Bulls earned All-America honors last season: Shevioe Reid, Shaniya Benjamin, Gabriel Moronta, Nathan Metelus, Terren Peterson, Amenda Saint Louis, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu, Goodness Iredia, Zahria Allers-Liburd and Tre’Sean Bouis. Romaine Beckford won national titles at both NCAA indoor and outdoor championships for high jump in 2023.
Other achievements include Abdul-Rasheed Saminu being named Indoor Most Valuable Performer for 2025 and Nikodem Pochopien earning Freshman of the Year honors. The coaching staff received AAC Indoor Staff of the Year awards consecutively for two years (2024–2025). Since Erik Jenkins became head coach in July 2019 he has overseen seven program records during one outdoor season alone.
USF has produced a total of 56 All-America selections over its history with consistent representation nearly every year since at least 2013.
