April 14, 2006
ORLANDO - The UCF women's track and field team continues its race toward the 2006 Conference USA Outdoor Championship when it travels to the Miami Elite Invitational on Saturday.
The Golden Knights are fielding an elite squad that includes five NCAA Regional qualifiers - seniors Tiffany Roebuck, Rian Thomas and Diana Chin, junior Katie Fowke and sophomore Victoria Chin.
Roebuck and Thomas go head-to-head in the hammer throw competition. Earlier this season, Roebuck qualified for her third consecutive NCAA Regional and shattered her previous school record in the event with a toss of 192-feet, three inches. The mark also ranks at the top of C-USA's rankings. Thomas, meanwhile, opened the outdoor season with a mark of 171-7 in the event and is focused upon moving up on the conference list.
Roebuck is also in the line-up for the discus and shot put, where she will be joined by sophomore Virginia Traynor. The senior is currently ranked in the top eight in both events, while Traynor is in the top 20 of the shot put rankings.
UCF is also well-represented in the pole vault with Fowke and sophomore Michelle Teuton. Fowke is the school recordholder after eclipsing the 12-foot mark in each of the previous two seasons. She continues to improve each meet and is currently ranked top three in C-USA at 11-9.75. Teuton is sixth in the league with a vault of 10-10.25 and is also ranked second all-time at UCF after an 11-5.75 during the indoor season.
Taking a break from the 400m hurdles after recording an NCAA Regional time of 60.80 last weekend at the Texas Relays, Victoria Chin races in the 400m dash, while senior Kylene Colasanti and freshman Michelle Ranc compete in the 400m hurdles. Ranc is second on the team with a time of 64.53 and Colasanti is third at 65.53.
Victoria's elder sister Diana Chin needs to shave mere hundredths of a second off her current season-best time of 14.11 in the 100m hurdles to qualify for her second trip to the NCAA Regional in the event and is three-quarters of an inch removed from the long jump standard at 19-6.25. Senior Lynnsey Hicks and freshman Dione Thomas also compete in the long jump.
Also on the track, juniors Jenny Rogan and Kaprice Williams race in the 200m and join forces on the relays. Freshman Sheree Carter competes in the 100m hurdles in addition to the high jump, shot put and javelin as she prepares for the heptathlon at the conference championship.