TAMPA - A conference title in the long jump, two school records and four top three finishes highlighted action for the University of South Florida on day two of the BIG EAST Track and Field Championships, held at the USF campus on Saturday. Overall the Bulls 11 student-athletes in the top eight while advancing 10 to Sunday's final heats...

Earning a spot on the podium with her third place finish in the heptathlon was senior Rachel Etienne, who rounded up a personal-best 5,187 points over the seven events to set the USF school record in the event. Etienne's point total was the best by a Bull since 2003 and she became the first USF student-athlete to post a top-three finish in conference history. Etienne was joined in the top eight by Rachael Klinger who finished fifth with a PR of 4,971 points and Alex Ware who placed eighth with a PR of 4,608 points.

Nicole Smith continued the USF tradition in the pole vault as she finished second with a leap of 12-7.5 (3.85m). USF, who had won the title in the event the last two seasons, has now had an athlete place in the top three for five-straight years. Brittany London also scored after clearing 12-3.5 (3.75m) for fourth overall.

Also earning points for the Bulls on the second day were senior Atasha Warren, who finished sixth in the shot put (48-9, 14.86m), junior Monique Williams, who placed sixth in the long jump (19-4.75, 5.91m), sophomore Kevin Bell who also placed sixth in the long jump (23-11.5, 7.30m), sophomore Brian Kilts with his seventh place finish in the high jump (6-6.25, 1.99m), and senior Sarah Canter with her eighth place finish in the javelin (133-2 (40.58m)...

In the team standings, the women currently sit in third place with 37 points while the men are in seventh with 26 points.

Day Two Results

TAMPA - Three University of South Florida Bulls placed in the top eight on the first day of the 2012 BIG EAST Track and Field Championships, held on the USF campus on Friday. Seniors Jared Thomas and Atasha Warren led the group in the hammer throw while senior Nicole Rozario stepped up in the 3,000m steeplechase.

Warren and Thomas both had banner days in the hammer as they not only placed but set personal-bests and improved their spots in the USF record books. Neither was ranked in the league in the event in heading into the meet.

Warren posted a personal-best mark of 178-2 (54.32m) on her sixth and final throw to jump to and finish seventh overall, giving USF two points in the team race. Her toss is the fourth-best in USF history, bettering her own mark that she set earlier in the year by almost six feet (172-11).

Thomas also PR'd, recording a throw of 176-10 (53.89m) on his second toss of the day to give him sixth place overall and earn three points for USF. The senior out-threw his previous PR of 176-8 by two inches giving him the second best mark in program history.

In the steeplechase, Rozario, who was set the school record in the event earlier in the season, posted a 10:21.35 for sixth place. The mark is the second-best time now in program history.

After four events of the heptathlon, the Bulls have four athletes in contention to place led by sophomore Rachael Klinger who currently sits in third place with 3,091 points. Klinger finished in the top five in three of the four events, with her best showing coming in the high jump where she finished tied for third at 5-5.25 (1.66m), outdoing her previous PR of 5-3.75 by an inch and a half.

Senior Rachel Etienne sits in fourth with 3,089 points while sophomore Lindsey Arnold is eighth and senior Alex Ware is in ninth heading into the final three events on Sunday.

The Bulls hit the road for three different meets this weekend and took home some pretty nice souvenirs.

Neamen Wise set a school outdoor record in the decathlon at the University of Georgia, while two other groups from the USF track and field team combined for eight event wins and 20 finishes in the top three at events in Tallahassee and Tampa.

"Overall it was a really good weekend," head coach Warren Bye said. "We got done what we needed to get done at each place. We achieved our goals of what we wanted to do."

A trio of Bulls took on multiple events at the University of Georgia with Wise competing in his first decathlon in a very long time, while Rachael Klinger and Rachel Etienne took part in their second heptathlon of the year.

Wise placed sixth in the decathlon with 6,536 points that gave him the school record after winning the 100 in 10.87 seconds and finishing as the top athlete in the 400 at 49.29 seconds. The Bulls' previous top outdoor decathlon mark was set by Grant Scelzi in 2009 when he totaled up 6,532 points.

"It was the first decathlon he's done since the World Junior Championships in Canada back when he was a freshman," said Bye of Wise. "I was happy to see him be able to get through that event and break a school record out of it."

Etienne placed fourth in the heptathlon with 4,877 points and Klinger wasn't far behind in sixth place with 4,591 points on Saturday.

The Bulls posted four event winners and 12 finishes in the top three on Friday and Saturday in Tallahassee...

A majority of the Bulls' squad will compete at the LSU Alumni Gold event this coming Friday and Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.

"It's going to be two good, solid track meets we're going to and it will give the kids another chance to get geared up and ready for the Big East Championships at home in a couple of weeks," Bye said.

The Big East Outdoor Championships take place May 4-6 at the USF track and field stadium.

5. Rachael Klinger, 2,890 points
100 hurdles: 14.90
High jump: 5' 3.75"
Shot put: 34' 10.25"
200: 26.59
Long jump: 18' 5"
Javelin: 77' 1"
800: 2:36.36

TAMPA - The Big East outdoor track and field championships take place in Tampa in three weeks and the Bulls are traveling all over the map to get ready for them.

USF head coach Warren Bye has taken members of his squad and strategically placed them in three different locations this week - Georgia, Tallahassee and Tampa - with a goal of getting each student-athlete further prepared for tough conference competition at USF track and field stadium May 4-6.

Neamen Wise is participating in his first decathlon of the season Thursday and Friday at the Georgia, while Rachel Etienne and Rachael Klinger take part in their second heptathlon on Friday and Saturday at the Bulldogs' home meet.

A total of 31 other Bulls will be at FSU to compete in field, hurdles and running events at the Seminole Invitational that takes place Friday and Saturday.

Combine those meets with 16 USF runners participating in the University of Tampa Invitational on Saturday and it makes for a very busy weekend for the Bulls.

"It's to fine-tune in three different areas at three different places to get some kids in certain events an opportunity to compete," Bye said. "They just get another opportunity to go before the Big East Championships in three weeks."

The Bulls will finish their regular season April 20-21 at the LSU Alumni Gold event in Baton Rouge, La.

TAMPA - The Bulls scooped up a bunch of achievements on the first day of the UNF Spring Break Invitational.

The USF track and field team posted five top-three finishes and 15 Big East qualifiers Friday in Jacksonville in the Bulls' first outdoors meet of the spring season.

"It was a good starter meet for the kids to give them an opportunity to get outside and compete," head coach Warren Bye said. "We'll see what happens tomorrow."

Jessie Prendergast took second in one of the final events of the day when she posted a 5K time of 18:37.21. Rachel Etienne took third in the long jump with a leap of 18' 9.75" while Tralonda Todd wasn't far behind in sixth at 18' 5.75.

Kevin Bell had a busy day, finishing second in the long jump with a Big East qualifying result of 23' 4.75" (wind assisted) and posting a time of 10.87 in the 100 meters. Drew Volz also competed late in the day and got second place in the pole vault at 16' 5.25."

Other Big East Outdoors qualifiers were Ena Johnson (100 hurdles), Rachel Klinger (100 hurdles), Landon Hargrove (110 hurdles) and Camilo Calderon (110 hurdles).

Saturday offers the Bulls another chance to rack up Big East qualifiers and they'll be plenty of athletes to keep an eye one. Yasmin Smith will compete in the 1,5000 after redshirting during the indoors season.

Jared Thomas will be taking park in the discus, and Etienne and Castillo will represent the USF women and men in the 400 hurdles. The Bulls will be trying out their arms in the javelin with Lindsay Arnold, Sarah Canter, Shelly Dulman and Klinger competing.

Saturday's schedule of events and results can be viewed here.

TAMPA - Several Bulls have the ability to come up big on the scoreboard come Big East time in jumps and combined events this track and field season.

USF gets to resume its indoor schedule Friday at the Bob Eubanks Open in Grand Rapids, Mich., where the Bulls get another chance to qualify for the Big East Championships...

"I really think he will be in the Big East title hunt if he can stay healthy," Olson said. "He really has the talent and potential to be a conference champion."

Sophomore Bryan Kilts also gives USF depth in the long jump and high jump after qualifying for Big East in both events last season.

Rachael Klinger will lead the combined events for the USF women after scoring at Big East last season as a freshman in the heptathlon and pentathlon. Etienne also will help in the heptathlon along with competing in the 400-meter hurdles.

Junior Naeman Wise, a junior, will be relied heavily upon by the USF men after placing third at Big East last season in the long jump and eighth in the 400-meter hurdles.

    EUGENE, Ore. - Rachael Klinger scored 2,734 points on the first day of the heptathlon at the U.S. Junior Track & Field Championships on Thursday and stands in 17th place entering the second day of competition. She scored over 700 points in three of the first four events, led by 851 points in the 100-meter hurdles, where she placed 11th with a time of 14.93.

Klinger added 771 points in the high jump thanks to a personal-best clearance of 5-4.25. She tied for eighth in the event. After a difficult shot put that resulted in 390 points, Klinger finished off the day with a 26.88 in the 200 meters to post 722 points.

The heptathlon will conclude on Friday with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters. Events will kickoff at 12:40 p.m. EST. In addition, David Aristil will begin competition in the 400-meter hurdles at 9:30 p.m. EST. To follow the live results, visit www.usatf.org.

    Rachel Klinger’s freshman track season at the University of South Florida can be called a lot of things: impressive, eye-opening, recordbreaking, historic even. Just don’t call it lucky.
    One year removed from being named the All Sports Association/ Daily News’ girls Track Athlete of the Year, Klinger burst onto the scene with the Bulls last season, setting numerous school records. In April, Klinger punctuatedherstellar debut season by qualifying for the 2011 USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which opens Thursday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The junior nationals serve as the national championship meet for athletes 19 and younger.
    Still, Klinger isn’t at all surprised by her early success.
    “I knew that as long as I stayed motivated like I did in high school, I would be able to thrive,” Klinger said.
Klinger, who will compete in the heptathlon, agrueling seven - event , two-day test of one’s mental and physical capacities, will do so looking to further cement her status as one of the elite freshmen talents to ever come through the USF golf program.
    Already, Klinger’s point total of 4,619 at the Big East Outdoor Championships rank as the fourth-highest total by a freshman in school history and is just four points shy of the school record by a freshman.
    It didn’t come easy, though.
    “Rachael is a very committed athlete,” Bulls’ coach Warren Bye said. “She has a tireless work ethic, she is what we call a track rat. She would spend all day at the track if you would allow her to.”
    During the indoor season, Klinger finished seventh at the Big East Championships in the pentathlon with a personalrecord 3,310 points, the third highest total for a USF freshman. Once outdoor season started, Klinger really got going.
    After finishing second at the USF Collegiate Invitational — setting new personal records in the 200-meter dash (25.97), 100-meter hurdles (15.53), long jump (18-02.25) and shot put (31-09.50) in the process — Klinger set a new personalrecordatthePolytan Invitational at the University of Indiana with 4,533 points to qualify for junior nationals. Only the top 16 point totals qualify for junior nationals.
    A few weeks later, Klinger’s season-long quest for a medal came to fruition, when at the Big East Outdoor Championships she took sixth.
Now, she hopes she can bring it all together on the sport’s biggest stage.
    “It’s really going to come down to who does it on that day,” Klinger said. “I’m hoping it all comes together. I really want to get 4,700 points and break the school record.”

   PHILADELPHIA - Denise von Eynatten completed a conference sweep of the pole vault to help put the University of South Florida women's track and field team into a tie for second with 44 points after the second day of the BIG EAST Championships on Saturday. The men's team sits in eighth place after two days with 12 points.

After setting a meet record and winning the conference crown indoors earlier this season, von Eynatten duplicated her performance outdoors with a meet record 13-9.75 clearance. She was one of four Bulls to score in the event as Stephanie Duffy took second after clearing 13-3.50. Dana Webb was fourth with a 12-11.50 clearance and Nicole Smith earned a point with an eighth-place finish (12-3.50). The Bulls scored 24 of their 44 points in the event.

Casey Wagner added eight points in the javelin behind a second-place throw of 160-4, while Nicole Rozario contributed a sixth-place finish in the Steeplechase behind a time of 10:32.82. Rachael Klinger contributed three points to the team total with a sixth-place finish in the heptathlon (4,619 points).

In addition to the scorers, the women's team saw two other athletes advance to finals on Sunday. Rachael James qualified eighth in the 400 meters with a time of 55.20, while Shaniel Chambers also qualified eighth in the 800 meters with a 2:09.71 clocking.

   PHILADELPHIA - Junior Lauren Noe got the University of South Florida started at the BIG EAST Championships on Friday with a third-place finish in the hammer throw. With the finish, Noe scored six points and earned All-BIG EAST honors for the first time in her career. She also scored outdoors in the hammer last season, finishing seventh. Noe will also compete in the discus on Sunday and will look to improve on her eighth-place finish from last season.

In other action, three Bulls opened competition in the heptathlon with freshman Rachael Klinger leading the way. Klinger tallied 2,857 points after the first four events. She started strong with a second-place finish and 858 points in the 100-meter hurdles (14.88). After posting 461 points in the shot put, Klinger tied for fifth in the high jump with a clearance of 5-3.25, which tied her personal best, for 747 points. She finished off the day by running a 26.07 in the 200 meters to score 791 points.

Junior Alex Ware has the next-best score for the Bulls with 2,626 points, while freshman Lindsay Arnold scored 2,516 points after the first day. Ware set a personal best in the 200 meters with a 26.52 to score 752 points and tied her best in the high jump with a 4-11.75 clearance for 644 points. Arnold set personal bests in two events, the shot put and 200 meters, with her top score of the day coming in the 100-meter hurdles, 821 points thanks to a 15.16 clocking...

   TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The University of South Florida had four Bulls finish off the heptathlon at the FSU Relays on Thursday afternoon. Freshmen Rachael Klinger and Lindsay Arnold, sophomore Natasha Pelton and junior Alex Ware competed in the final three of the seven-event competition.

Klinger earned the top USF finish, placing third with 3,381 points, while Arnold took seventh with 2,870 points. Pelton was next for the Bulls in ninth place with 2,773 points and Ware finished 10th with 2,687 points.

Klinger's top event finish of the day came in the long jump, where she tied for third with a leap of 16-11.25. She added an eighth-place finish in the javelin (77-6) and a seventh-place finish in the 800 meters (2:39.91). Ware was USF's top finisher in both the jav and the half. She placed fifth with a throw of 84-2 and added a 2:39.68 in the 800 to finish sixth.

The rest of the Bulls track and field team is headed to Atlanta, Ga. to compete in the Yellow Jacket Invitational on Saturday. Live results will be available on deltatiming.com.

   TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The University of South Florida women's track and field team had four athletes open competition in the heptathlon on Wednesday at the FSU Relays. Freshman Rachael Klinger currently sits in third place after the first four events with 2,778 points, while freshman Lindsay Arnold (2,496 points), junior Alex Ware (2,485 points) and sophomore Natasha Pelton (2,335 points) rank seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively.

The Bulls opened the day with the 100-meter hurdles. Arnold finished second in the event with a 15.02, while Klinger placed fourth after clocking a 15.08. The athletes then moved on to the high jump, where Klinger tied for second. She was clean through 5-3.25, but was unable to get over at 5-4.50 and ended up scoring 747 points.

Ware moved up in the standings after placing third in the shot put with a toss of 32-2.25. Arnold finished just behind Ware with a put of 31-5.75. In the final event of the day, Klinger led the Bulls contingent with a sixth-place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 26.35.

The Bulls athletes will finish the seven events with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.

    TAMPA --- The University of South Florida track and field team honored their seniors at the Bulls Invitational on Friday and broke two school records along the way.

"Anytime you have school records, it's always good," said head coach Warren Bye. "Overall, we had good performances but I could tell we've been off for a week [because of spring break]. We'll get them back into class, into rhythm and into the routine and get them back to what they need to do."

Denise von Eynatten broke the outdoor school pole vault record for the second time in her career, jumping a height of 14-0 to take home first place. The All-American had previously set the school record back in 2008 with a leap of 13-5.25.

Also with the mark, von Eynatten qualifies for the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships in May...

Senior Kristy Cooper also set a new PR in the 3000 meter run with a time of 10:30.69, over a minute faster than her time last week at the USF Open (11.43.42). Her previous PR was 11:27.42, which she set back in 2009.

Junior Lauren Noe also had a big day. In the hammer throw, she set a new personal record with a toss of 182-4, which is also a BIG EAST qualifying mark...

Women's Participants

   AKRON, Ohio -- The University of South Florida track and field team opened the first day of competition at the 2011 BIG EAST Indoor Championships at the Stile Athletics Field House in Akron, OH on Saturday. Day one was highlighted by nine new personal records for the Bulls.

"We had nine PR's today, five on the women's side and four on the men's, so that's always good to have life-time bests," said head coach Warren Bye. "We advanced several to the finals tomorrow, so that's very good as well. I expect all of them to do very well. In the horizontal jumps, I think we have a very good chance at scoring some points in both the men's and women's [standings]. We also have pole vault tomorrow, which will be good ... we're expecting to score there as well."

Freshman Rachael Klinger set new PR's in each of the pentathlon events she competed in (60-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, long jump and 800m run). She scored a total of 3,310 points, which is the highest point total of her collegiate career.

Four men also saw new personal bests. Sophomore Mike Vani placed fifth in the pole vault with a 16-2.75 jump. Also in the jumps, senior Antillio Bastian leaped 22-11.75, which replaces his previous best mark of 22-5 he set earlier in the season at Minnesota...

Pentathlon
7. Rachael Klinger, 3310 pts
13. Lindsay Arnold, 2688 pts
14. Alex Ware, 2414 pts

   NICEVILLE — The ink had not yet dried when Niceville senior Rachael Klinger looked to her left and felt her eyes begin to water.

   Sitting quietly one table over was Fred Carley — the man who first introduced Klinger to the hurdles as an eighth-grader and had since inspired her to become a coach herself one day — and his eyes were also welling up with emotion just after she signed a track scholarship to the University of South Florida.

   When I was at Ruckel my eighth-grade year, first year of ever doing track, he pinpointed me out and said, ‘You look like you should be a hurdler,’ ” Klinger recalled. “He took the time to show an eighth-grader such a technical event. He knew the success would come.”

   Come it did, as Klinger, a District 2-3A champion in the 100-meter hurdles, 300 hurdles and the high jump as well as a state placer in the high jump (second) and the 100 hurdles (sixth), fulfilled a childhood dream by signing a Division-I track scholarship.

   Klinger is one of 13 members of the Bulls’ 2010 signing class that features three state champions, one two-time state champion and two other state runner-ups. After visiting the Tampa campus — and taking in the newly renovated USF Soccer-Track and Field Stadium — and speaking closely with Bulls track coach Warren Bye, Klinger said choosing USF was easy.

   “The first thing that stuck out is he was really serious about his program,” Klinger said. “I’m so blessed that he’s giving me the opportunity.”

   Klinger will report to USF on June 23 to start her summer semester of classes and begin working out with her own personal trainer in preparation for her freshman season, where she is expected to compete in the heptathlon, an event she has never before competed in.

   But having run the 200 in middle school and competed regularly in the 100 hurdles and high jump — two of the highest-scoring events in the six-event heptathlon — both Klinger and Bye feel she has a good base upon which to build.

   Niceville track coach Sherman Eller believes that despite all of the success and personal records Klinger set over the past few months, her brightest days remain in front of her.

   “The improvement that I’ve seen and been a part of has been amazing,” Eller said. “But I think she still has a tremendous amount to grow. The sky’s the limit.”

    TAMPA - Head Coach Warren Bye and the University of South Florida track and field program announced their 2010 signing class today, highlighted by three state champions, including one two-time state title winner who ranks in the top 10 in the nation in the triple jump. In addition, three more recruits finished as runner-ups in their respective events at the state meets.

A total of 13 student-athletes will join the Bulls in the fall and add to a roster that will return a good nucleus of talent to the 2010-11 women's track and field team but will lose several key members from the men's team. The incoming recruits boast seven state championships combined during their high school days.

USF will add six members to next year's women's team, which brings back nearly every BIG EAST qualifier. Of USF's 36 different conference qualifying marks for the 2010 BIG EAST Outdoor Championships, 32 belong to athletes returning next season.

Niceville, Fla., product Rachael Klinger will give the Bulls depth in the high jump and hurdles after placing second in the high jump at the 3A championships as well as sixth in the 100 hurdles for Niceville High School. Klinger leapt 5-4 in the high jump for her second-place showing, slightly off her all-time PR of 5-6, and ran 14.91 to place sixth in the 100 hurdles. She owns an all-time PR of 14.72 in the hurdles. She also competes in the 300 hurdles, where she owns an all-time best of 45.53.

A leap of 15-0 in the pole vault gave...