Jan. 14, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Junior UCF jumper Dione Thomas (Jacksonville, Fla.) has been named the Knights' track and field athlete of the week as decided by the team's coaching staff on Monday.
Thomas posted a lifetime personal-best mark in the long-jump with a leap of 19-9, which topped her previous best mark of 19-8.75. She was one of two UCF athletes to claim their respective events on Saturday's final day of the Virginia Tech Invitational, which opened the 2008 indoor season for the Knights.
"Dione Thomas had a really solid performance in the long jump," UCF head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert said. "It was a lifetime personal best and it was a really great start for her season. It proves we are a great team and headed in the right direction."
Following each week of competition, Smith Gilbert and her staff will nominate an athlete to be the school's track and field athlete of the week based on the previous weekend's meet. That athlete will then be eligible to be considered for the Conference USA Athlete of the Week, announced each Tuesday afternoon by the league office.
Team Notebook
The UCF track and field team successfully opened its 2008 indoor campaign this past weekend at the Virginia Tech Invitational in Blacksburg, Va. ... A pair of athletes captured their events on Saturday as freshman sprinter Lizzie Harris won the 400-meter dash and junior jumper Dione Thomas claimed the long jump with a lifetime personal-best mark ... Senior thrower Virginia Traynor also had a strong showing on Friday evening in the weight throw, utilizing a new technique to advance to the finals and finish seventh overall ... The weekend competition marked the first meet for first-year head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert ... UCF returns to action Saturday, Jan. 26, when it travels to Gainesville, Fla., to participate in the Florida Diet Pepsi Invitational.
Recent Results
Competition: Virginia Tech Invitational
Date: Friday, Jan. 11-Saturday, Jan. 12
City: Blacksburg, Va. (Rector Field House)
Placing/No. of Teams: No Team Score
Upcoming Competitions
Jan. 26, 2008 - Florida Diet Pepsi Invitational - Gainesville, Fla.
Feb. 1-2, 2008 - Nebraska Frank Sevigne Invitational - Lincoln, Neb.
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