UCF head cross country and women's track and field coach Marcia Mansur-Wentworth adds her name to the ever-growing list when she chats with fans live via UCFAthletics.com on Friday, Aug. 12, beginning at 2 p.m. Fans are invited to submit questions immediately or during the designated chat time. Mansur-Wentworth is one of the most successful coaches in Golden Knights' history as she has won 10 Atlantic Sun titles and earned 10 A-Sun Coach of the Year awards. Collectively, her athletes have received 177 all-conference honors and 16 NCAA East Regional track qualifications. Two of her athletes have also competed in the finals of the NCAA Championship, the first ever for UCF. Like most of the UCF athletic teams, Mansur-Wentworth's squads will be making the move into Conference USA for the 2005 season. Among the coaches still awaiting their turn to chat are men's golf coach Nick Clinard and women's golf coach Jill Fjelstul. Fans can check UCFathletics.com for upcoming dates and times. | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: Hi, Golden Knight fans. It's great to be able to be here and answer your questions. | ||
| Janessa (portland): Are you excited to be joining Conference USA? How do you like it so far? | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: I am very excited about moving into C-USA. I met all the coaches last October at the C-USA offices. Everyone seems great and I look forward to the competition. | ||
| Haywood (Orlando): As you move from the Atlantic Sun to Conference USA, which areas of the team do you view as strengths and which are weaknesses? | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: Our strengths have always been in the field events, hurdles and distances. The area we need to improve upon is the sprints. We have some talented women this year and hopefully they will fill those events. | ||
| George - Longwood: What has been the key to your success over the past decade? | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: I feel the reason we have been successful as a team over the past ten years is that we have a balanced team. We line up athletes in each event at conference and have been successful in scoring in almost all events. A lot of teams work just one or two event areas, where we try to have athletes compete in all 18 of the track and field events. This spreads the staff a bit thin, but it has worked well for us so far. | ||
| Seymore: Altamonte Springs: What are your feelings about UCF's athletic facility plans? Will the Track& Field team be getting a new facility? | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: The facilty plans are great and I have enjoyed watching the transformation of the campus. Our track was resurfaced in January of 2004 and is still in good shape. The only thing we need is an improved area for our throwers and some stands for athletes and spectators. But as far as stands go, soccer is in the same situation. I'm sure as facilities continue to improve our competition venue will be brought along too. | ||
| Tony (Daytona): Congrats on the new hire!! How important was that for the program? | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: Coach Ormsby brings a tradition of success from FSU and his pending doctorate in sports psychology will be asset not only to our distance runners but our entire track and field. | ||
| Ed (Ocala): How important have your assistants been to the program? Do you see more stability in that area? | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: My assistants John Guarino and Jennifer Vander Logt have been extremely important in our team's success. Jenn begins her fifth season and John is beginning is second season. Both are very committed to the program and I think the athletes are getting the stability they deserve. | ||
| Bob (Tampa): How many meets at home do you have this year? Who will be there? | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: Unfortunately, because of the facilities upgrades, we will be unable to host a cross country meet. If you would like to come out and see us, we will participate in the Disney Classic on Oct. 8. We will be hosting two track and field meets in the spring. The UCF opener, which is scheduled for March 4, will featured USF, Florida Atlantic and Jacksonville as well as one or two out of state teams. The Golden Knight Twilight is slated for April 29. Last year, 12 schools participated. | ||
| Steve (Atlanta): How do you think Roebuck and Chin will perform in Conference USA? | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: I feel that Tiffany Roebuck and Diana Chin are two athletes who can have an immediate impact in Conference USA. They are two of the best athletes who have ever come through this program. I know they are looking forward to the challenge. | ||
| Paul (Titusville): Who are your top returning athletes? | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: In addition to Tiffany Roebuck and Diana Chin, our other top returners are Andrea Morrow, a two-tme NCAA Regional qualifier in the steeplechase; Victoria Chin in the 400m hurdles; Katie Fowke, a two-time NCAA Regional qualifier in the pole vault; Karen Kozub in the middle distances; and Lynnsey Hicks in the horizontal jumps. | ||
| Monique (South Beach): How are your incoming freshman going to do this year? | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: We had a great signing year and I think many of the newcomers will be impact athletes. | ||
| Coach Mansur-Wentworth: Thank you for all of your great questions. We look forward to seeing you at our meets. Go Golden Knights! | ||
Mansur-Wentworth Conducts Live Chat Friday
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