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Track and Field Newcomers Ready to Shine for Golden Knights

Jan. 9, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - When the UCF women's track and field team makes its 2007 season debut at the Florida Intercollegiate in Gainesville on Jan. 13, the lineup will feature six newcomers who bring impressive credentials to their respective events.

On the track, the Golden Knights welcome transfer Sadé Nero and freshmen Feyisara Adaramola, Jenny Clausen and Carley Dart.

Nero is a four-time state competitor from Miami Northwestern Senior High School and transfer from LSU, who was a finalist in the 400m at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship during her freshman season. In addition to running that event for the Golden Knights, she also will lend her experience to the 4x400m relay team that placed third at the 2006 Conference USA Outdoor Championship.

A freshman from the Bronx, Adaramola was ranked among the DyeStat Elite - a website dedicated to high school track and field. She has post indoor bests of 7.07 in the 55m, 24.85 in the 200m and 39.79 in the 300m during her final season at Trevor Day School. As a junior, Adaramola qualified for the USA Track and Field Nationals in the 200m and was a National Scholastic finalist in the event.

Clausen was also a standout in regional and national races during her years at Jackson Memorial High School. Her personal-best time of 17:34.40 in the 5,000m last spring helped her achieve a ranking of seventh in the nation among high school women by Track and Field News. Her high school experience translated well onto the collegiate cross country trails as she earned C-USA all-conference honors in the fall of 2006 and posted the school's fifth best times in both the 5K and 6K races.

Although Dart missed the cross country season due to injury, she is prepared to go the distance - the middle distance - for the Golden Knights this spring. The native of Whitby, Ontario owns gold medals in both the 400m and 800m from the International Meet of Champions and was a provincial champion in both events.

Despite losing eight-time all-conference honoree Tiffany Roebuck to graduation, the Golden Knights added two local standouts to the throwing lineup in freshmen LaKendra Thames and Jessica Francis.

Thames joins UCF from West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Fla. She owned the top marks in the state in the shot put and the discus last spring as she won the 2006 Metro Conference Championship in both events. In 2005, she won the state title in the discus.

Francis, meanwhile, had the third-best marks in the state in the shot put and the discus a year ago as a member of the Boone High School team. During her senior year, she claimed the state championship in the discus and took fourth in the shot put.

Like classmate Adaramola, both Thames and Francis were featured in the DyeState Elite rankings.

With such a wealth of talent and experience, there is no doubt that these athletes will make significant contributions throughout the season and tally valuable points when the conference championship is on the line during both the indoor and outdoor season.

The Golden Knights open the 2006 indoor season at the UF Collegiate Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. on Saturday, Jan. 13. The events are set to begin at 9 a.m.

For the latest news and information on the Golden Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF athletics.