April 13, 2008
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Senior sprinter Victoria Chin (Orlando, Fla.) was a part of three of UCF's five regional-qualifying scores on Saturday and the Knights also broke two school records to highlight the team's most impressive day of the season at the Miami Elite Invitational. The one-day event was hosted by the University of Miami at the Cobb Track and Field Facility.
"This was a great meet for us," UCF head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert said. "We had a lot of school records, regional-qualifying marks and PRs. We are starting to show our confidence and our preparation. I thought Coach [Mason] Cathey and Coach [John] Ridgway did a great job preparing our athletes mentally and physically for this meet. We are going to get back and get ready to travel to Vanderbilt next weekend to face some quality SEC and conference competition."
The Knights have notched seven NCAA regional-qualifying marks this season, which ties for the second-most in a single season in school history. UCF has accomplished that feat in just three meets this season, while the 2005 Knights notched eight NCAA regional-qualifying scores over the course of the entire campaign.
Chin notched a personal-best time of 13.91 in the 100-meter hurdles before also notching a regional-qualifying time in the 400-meter hurdles with a 1:00.68. This marks the second consecutive season in which Chin has punched her ticket to the NCAA regionals in the 400-meter hurdles.
Chin also was a regional-qualifier as part of UCF's school-record-setting 4x400-meter relay, which finished in a time of 3:43.30. The relay consisted of Feyisara Adaramola (Bronx, N.Y.), Shantile Blackburn (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Dione Thomas (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Chin. They shattered the previous school-record time of 3:44.62 that was set in the 2006 campaign. Blackburn and Chin also were a part of that squad two years ago.
"I am pleased that Victoria Chin qualified for regionals in three different events," Smith Gilbert said. "It is great as a senior to go out in style and that's what she is setting herself up to do this season."
Blackburn qualified for the NCAA East Regional in her second different event. The junior middle distance runner, who last week at the Pepsi Florida Relays set the school record and qualified for regionals in the 800-meter run, on Saturday qualified in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 56.93.
Senior middle distance runner Karen Kozub (Alden, N.Y.) charted a regional-qualifying time in the 800-meter run with a personal-best time of 2:09.60. That mark was three one-hundredths of a second shy of the school-record-setting time of 2:09.57 recorded in that event last weekend by Blackburn at the Pepsi Florida Relays. Kozub's mark bested her previous personal-record time of 2:12.02 set in her freshman season. Prior to this season, no Knight had broken the 2:10 plateau in the 800-meter run. Blackburn and Kozub have both accomplished that feat this season.
Sophomore thrower LaKendra Thames (Winter Garden, Fla.) broke UCF's school record in the shot put with a throw of 47-8.50 (14.54m). She broke the record previously held by Tiffany Roebuck of 47-2.50 in the 2005 season.
"I am particularly pleased with LaKendra Thames breaking the school record in the shot put today," Smith Gilbert said.
The Knights have now broken 17 school records (indoor and outdoor) this season under the direction of Smith Gilbert. Five have come during the 2008 outdoor season.
Senior Virginia Traynor (Miami, Fla.) recorded a personal-best throw of 158-2 (48.20m) in the hammer throw, while also finishing sixth in the shot put with a toss of 42-6.75 (12.97m). Sophomore Ashley Kirkpatrick (Lake Mary, Fla.) recorded a personal-best throw of 143-5 (43.72m) in the hammer, while freshman Christina Raphael (Miami, Fla.) was fourth in the discus with a collegiate-best toss of 149-11 (45.70m).
The men's distance runners, competing in their non-traditional season, got good competition experience in a variety of events on Saturday. The most impressive of those performances was senior Dustin Hicks (Oviedo, Fla.) ran a 4:00.70 in the 1,500-meter run.
UCF returns to action April 18-19, when it travels to Nashville to compete in the Vanderbilt Invitational.
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