Rasheed’s 20.12 in the 200m dash sets a new program record and makes him Olympic-eligible for Ghana; also finishes fifth in the 100m dash with a personal best non-wind-aided time of 10.02.
The University of South Florida put an exclamation mark on a banner year tonight, with Abdul-Rasheed Saminu taking home two First Team All-American awards within 45 minutes of each other and meeting the Olympic qualifying standard time in the 200m dash with a program record time (20.12).
After a year filled with the program’s first-ever indoor and outdoor men’s conference championships, a program-record 33 athletes in the NCAA First Round, and a program-record 12 athletes in the NCAA Semifinals, Abdul-Rasheed Saminu became the first-ever Bull to earn First Team All-American in two events at the same NCAA Championship Meet.
“Yesterday capped off a great year for our program and I am very proud of the effort given by our teams,” Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Erik Jenkins said. “That effort has produced two Men’s AAC team championships, program-best finishes for our women’s team in the AAC championship, multiple school records, numerous All-American accolades, and a second consecutive top-30 finish for our men at the NCAA Outdoor Championship.”
Around 9:52 p.m. ET, he finished fifth (10.02) in the 100m dash NCAA Championship final. The time was his personal best non-wind-aided time and came in a race where only four-hundredths of a second separated sixth place from second.
Around 10:37 p.m. ET, Rasheed finished third in the 200m dash NCAA Championship Final with a program record time (20.12). The time met the Olympic qualifying standard time of 20.16. This means should Ghana select him to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, he is now eligible.
Rasheed’s two First Team All-American nominations make it three for South Florida at this Championship meet, as his roommate, Goodness Iredia, finished seventh (7.86m / 25′ – 9.5″) in the long jump on Wednesday.
Overall the men’s team finished 26th in the NCAA Championship Meet, earning 12 points. 10 came from Rasheed, four in the 100m dash, and six in the 200m dash. The remaining two points came from Iredia in the long jump.
