Jeff Masterson has made his plans for next season official.
The Mitchell senior, Pasco County's most dominant distance runner, signed with South Florida.
"(USF) was one of my top choices," Masterson said. "They'll be in the Big East next year, and I'll get to travel across the country competing against top teams."
Masterson capped a sensational high school career two weeks ago by placing fourth in the Class 3A meet, four spots ahead of his closest county competitor. It was the third straight year he finished in the top 10 and second time in the top four. He also won a state track title in the 3,200-meter race last season.
Those performances helped Masterson believe he could make an immediate impact in college. The Bulls have just nine runners, and two missed most of the season with injuries. USF limped to a 10th-place finish at conference and was 17th at the region meet.
"Jeff was our No. 1 guy," Bulls coach Greg Thiel said. "I think he can come in and contribute right away. He has the chance to be one of our top four runners."
For the past three months, USF has pushed hard to sign Masterson. Thiel and distance coach Todd Martin scouted him at several meets, but missed his run at state because they were stuck in heavy traffic.
"But we didn't need to see him there," Thiel said. "We were already convinced."
Masterson made unofficial visits to the University of Florida and Tampa University before deciding on USF. He will join former Mitchell teammate Nick Ferrer, who made the team as a walk-on and was the No. 5 runner.
"I knew that I wanted to stay in the state," Masterson said. "Money was an issue and I had some family concerns. USF just made the most sense for me."
His reason for staying close to home is personal. Masterson's father, George, died last year after a long bout with cancer. He also has three brothers who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Daniel, 23, and David, 14, use wheelchairs. Aaron, 8, could need one soon.
Thiel said he knew about the mental anguish Masterson went through the past two seasons.
"That's one of the reasons we tabbed him all along," Thiel said. "We look for kids with a lot of character. Jeff certainly has that and that's why he'll have a lot of success in college.
"To see all that he's gone through and still be able to run well is something. I know I want a guy like that on my team."
