The day commenced with the 100m hurdles prelims, as Adaobi Tabugbo competed in her premier event for the first time in Black and Gold. Securing a spot in the finals with a debut 13.25 in heat five, she would compete in the 4x100m relay just an hour later.
Alongside Jazmen Newbery, Aaliyah Gipson and I’Asia Wilson, the group finished fifth in the finals, clocking a 45.25. In the lone field event of the day, sophomore Alexis Waller neared her personal best with a 12.28m attempt to place 12th.
Norfolk State transfer Yvonne Sandui produced a promising time of 2:10.05 in the 800m, pacing Kendall Hughes’ 2:14.12.
Tabugbo’s busy day had a remarkable conclusion, as the Nigerian native broke into the record books with a personal-best 12.93 in the 100m hurdles finals to finish third. The performance lands her third in program history, joining UCF legends Rayniah Jones and Jackie Coward as the only athletes in program history to run sub-13 seconds.
After securing her first-career All-America honor during the indoor season, Twanseise Johnson also authored a personal-best outing with a 53.57 in the 400m, the sixth-fastest time in program history.
In the 100m, I’Asia Wilson placed 17th with a strong 11.49, while Khristel Martindale ran an 11.82 to finish 35th. UCF’s day concluded with the 4x400m relay, as the squad of Y’Vette Harris, Johnson, Janiah Pulliam and Deja Shaw-Huckaby, ran a 3:35.17 to cross the line in ninth.
UP NEXT
The Knights will split time between the Duke and USF Invitational next weekend, with Natalia Madison set to make the trip to North Carolina, while the rest of the squad will venture west to Tampa.
