MEN’S RESULTS | WOMEN’S RESULTS
TAMPA, Fla. – The UCF Knights women and Wichita State men repeated as champions at the 2023 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Knights tied their own record with 163 points, while the Shockers edged Houston by two points with 154.
The Cougars and Cincinnati finished in second and third place, respectively, in both the men’s and women’s championships. The Cougar women finished with 105, followed by the Bearcats at 93. The Houston med had 152 points for second place, while Cincinnati finished with 140 points.
Houston’s Shaun Maswanganyi was named the men’s Most Valuable Performer of the meet as the leading individual scorer for a second straight year, while East Carolina’s Jared Harrell and Memphis’s Will Dibo took home men’s Freshman of the Year. UCF’s Rayniah Jones captured the women’s Most Valuable Performer and Tulsa’s Alicen Ashley was recognized as the conference Freshman of the Year. Steve Rainbolt and the coaching staff from Wichita State were honored as the men’s Coaching Staff of the Year, and UCF’s Dana Boone and her coaching staff completed the double from the indoor season as the women’s outdoor Coaching Staff of the Year.
The meet began with women’s pole vault as Abby Knouff took home the first gold medal of the day, besting Alyssa Morello of Memphis for first place with a jump of 4.17 meters. Morello cleared the same height but failed on her first attempt, to grab the silver medal. Morello’s teammate Monica Aldrighetti cleared 4.07 meters for the bronze medal.
Romaine Beckford of South Florida, the 2023 NCAA Indoor National Champion, defended his conference title in high jump, clearing 2.17 meters. Brady Palen of Wichita State finished with the silver medal after clearing 2.14 meters, while teammate Weston Lewis took home the bronze medal after clearing 2.05 meters.
Asherah Collins took home the first gold medal of the day for UCF, winning triple jump at 13.30 meters. Teammate Jasmine Scott-Kilgo earned the silver medal at 13.05 meters, while Tulane’s Kara Steele won the bronze medal at 12.72 meters.
The women’s 400-meter relay came down to the wire as UCF edged out Houston by four-tenths of a second. The Knights ran 44.06, while the Cougars ran a 44.10. South Florida came in third place with a time of 44.70.
In the men’s 400-meter relay, Houston and South Florida both ran sub-40’s with the Cougars coming out on top at 39.45. The Bulls ran 39.77 for a second-place finish, while East Carolina took home the bronze medal at 40.44.
Samantha Lenton of Memphis broke the meet record in discus with a toss of 54.47 meters. UCF’s Adrienne Adams was the silver medalist with a throw of 53.13, while Houston’s Hailey Pollard took home third place with a toss of 51.62 meters.
Laura Nicholson brought home the first gold medal for Temple, winning the women’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:20.43. SMU’s Leoni Mierswa was the silver medalist at 4:23.04, while Tulane’s Mackenzie Callahan claimed third place at 4:24.12.
Cincinnati’s Tyler Wirth ran a 3:41.24 in the men’s 1,500-meter run to claim the gold medal, just six-tenths of a second off the record. Tulsa’s Shay McEvoy was the silver medalist in the event with a time of 3:43.56, while Tulane’s Aaron Gilliam rounded out the podium in third place with a time of 3:45.27.
UCF picked up a pair of podium winners in the 100-meter hurdles. Rayniah Jones set the conference meet record with a time of 12.66, breaking her previous mark set last year. Kaylor Harris finished in third place for the Knights at 13.01. Cincinnati picked up eight points as Nyile Facey ran 12.97 to finish in second place.
Houston took home first and second place in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. De’Vion Wilson led the way, setting a new meet record with a time of 13.53. DJ Akindele finished in second place at 13.77. South Florida’s Michael Bourne III earned six points for the Bulls, earning the bronze medal with a time of 13.91.
Latasha Smith of UCF defended her 400-meter dash title and set a record in the process, running a 51.21. Her teammate, Kiah Williams, ran 52.12 for second place. South Florida’s Je’Nyia Burton claimed the bronze medal at 52.74.
South Florida bookended the 400-meter dash for the men with Shevioe Reid taking home the gold medal at 45.96 and Elijah Wright finishing third at 46.70. Cincinnati’s Keco Morrison finished in second place at 46.51.
Cincinnati’s Korbin Spencer won the men’s discus event with a top throw of 55.12 meters. Memphis teammates Will Dibo (54.34 meters) and Sascha Schmidt (54.15 meters) were silver and bronze medalists, respectively.
Rayniah Jones continued her record-breaking meet, running a 10.94 in the 100-meter dash to set a new conference record. Houston’s Cecilia Tamayo-Garza ran a 11.10 to finish in second place, while East Carolina’s Melicia Mouzzon finished in third place at 11.21.
The record breaking continued into the men’s 100-meter dash with Houston’s Shaun Maswanganyi running a 9.96 to break the meet record. East Carolina’s Royal Burris came in second place at 10.11, while Cincinnati’s Naquille Harris earned the bronze medal at 10.18.
Tulane took home a pair of medals in the women’s 800-meter dash with Janae Dean (2:06.76) taking home the gold medal and Victoria Robinson (2:09.05) coming in third place. Temple’s Laura Nicholson claimed her second medal of the day with a silver after running 2:08.11.
Houston claimed the top two spots in the men’s 800-meter dash, including Lloyd Frilot setting a new meet record 1:48.09. Adam Mason finished just behind at 1:48.83, while Tulsa’s Sean Korsmo finished in third place at 1:50.40.
Cincinnati’s Carlos Kouassi won the men’s triple jump with a top jump of 15.37 meters. Wichita State finished in second and third place as Yuben Goncalves (15.25m) and Harry Barthelemy (15.13m) both podiumed for the Shockers.
South Florida’s Sanique Walker and Houston’s Sydni Townsend both broke the previous meet record in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with Walker coming out on top at 55.87. Townsend finished in second at 55.99, while Tulsa’s Anna Mager claimed third place at 58.54.
South Florida’s Michael Bourne III earned his second medal of the meet, adding a gold medal in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 50.86. Houston’s De’Vion Wilson followed up his gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles with a silver in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a 51.21. Wichita State’s Yuben Goncalves claimed the bronze medal at 51.25.
Houston’s Christyan Sampy earned the gold medal in the pole vault, clearing a height of 5.46 meters. South Florida finished with silver and bronze medals as Kobe Babin (5.36m) and Stone Baker (5.26m) both podiumed.
Latasha Smith of UCF added another record to her name in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.09. Houston’s Cecilia Tamayo-Garza also broke the previous meet record and finished in second place at 22.45. UCF’s Rayniah Jones earned the bronze medal at 22.64.
Shaun Maswanganyi of Houston broke the 200-meter dash record, breaking the 20-second mark for the first time at 19.99 to win gold. East Carolina’s Royal Burris took home the silver medal while also breaking the previous mark at 20.20. South Florida’s Shevioe Reid won the bronze medal at 20.53.
In women’s high jump, Cincinnati claimed the top two medals with Taylor Beard winning the event at 1.82 meters. Annika Kinley cleared 1.79 meters for the silver, besting Wichita State’s Marissa Jensen based on attempts, who also cleared 1.79 meters for third place.
Tulsa women finished with 16 total points in the 5,000-meter run as Chloe Hershenow (16:42.51) and Layla Roebke (16:51.61) finished in first and third place. SMU’s Kaitlyn Gearin earned the silver medal at 16:47.22.
Tulsa distance runners took first and second place in the men’s 5,000-meter run where Cormac Dalton set a meet record at 13:40.06. Scott Beattie was the silver medalist in the event at 13:49.13. Tulane’s Bradley Makuvire was the bronze medalist at 14:07.28.
The South Florida women’s 4x400-meter relay team finished the meet in record fashion, running a 3:32.24 to set the meet record en route to a gold medal. Houston finished in second place at 3:35.55, while Wichita State earned the bronze medal at 3:40.67.
In the final event of the evening in the 4x400-meter relay, Wichita State needed to finish in fourth place or better to win the championship, finishing in third place at 3:10.46. Houston won the final event at 3:07.54, while South Florida was just behind in second place at 3:07.96.
2023 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Men’s Teams Scores
1. Wichita State – 154
2. Houston – 152
3. Cincinnati – 140
4. Memphis – 104
5. South Florida – 103
6. Tulsa – 85
7. East Carolina – 55
8. Tulane - 26
Women’s Teams Scores
1. UCF – 163 (meet record score)
2. Houston – 105
3. Cincinnati – 93
4. South Florida – 78
5. Tulsa – 72
6. Tulane – 63
7. Wichita State – 59
8. SMU – 56
9. Memphis – 52
10. East Carolina – 43
11. Temple - 35
Most Valuable Performers
Shaun Maswanganyi, Houston (Men’s)
Rayniah Jones, UCF (Women’s)
Freshmen of the Year
Jared Harrell, East Carolina (Men’s)
Will Dibo, Memphis (Men’s)
Alicen Ashley, Tulsa (Women’s)
Coaching Staff of the Year
Steve Rainbolt, Wichita State (Men’s)
Dana Boone, UCF (Women’s)