May 14, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Having already recorded 10 NCAA regional-qualifying marks this outdoor season, the UCF track and field team heads to El Paso, Texas, to compete in the three-day Conference USA Championships hosted by the University of Texas-El Paso at Kidd Field.
Activities begin on Thursday at 11 a.m. EDT with the multi events, while the 10,000-meter run is contested at 9:30 p.m. EDT. Friday's events begin at 11 a.m. EDT with the field events, while the preliminaries of the running events begin at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Saturday's final day commences at 3 p.m. EDT with the presentation of awards set for 10:50 p.m. EDT. Live results of the meet can be found at: http://www.flashresults.com/flashtexas/cusaoutdoor08/.
All-session ticket passes are available for $15 adults/$10 youth. Single-day tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for youth and those who present their U.S. military identification cards. For ticket information, please contact the UTEP ticket office at (915) 747-5234.
Rice is the defending Conference USA Outdoor Champion, having claimed the 2007 crown. UCF, competing in its third C-USA outdoor meet in school history, looks to improve on its fifth-place finish from a year ago.
The Knights are coming off a strong showing at the UCF Invitational this past weekend in Orlando. UCF notched five NCAA regional-qualifying marks, which gives the Knights a school-record 10 for the season. Freshman Lizzie Harris (Miami, Fla.) was named the Conference USA Track and Field Female Athlete of the Week for her impressive performances at the event. The Knights have claimed the C-USA Female Athlete of the Week award in two of the past three weeks, as junior Dione Thomas (Jacksonville, Fla.) captured the honor three weeks ago, marking the first time in school history that a UCF athlete had earned that award.
Harris qualified for regionals in three events - the 400-meter hurdles, the high jump and the 4x100-meter relay. In March, Harris became UCF's first-ever Conference USA individual champion when she won the high jump at the C-USA indoor meet in Houston. She also was UCF's first NCAA indoor participant and first-ever All-America selection.
The Knights have now set 21 school records this season (indoor and outdoor) under the direction of first-year head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert, including breaking many of those records multiple times over. In the outdoor season alone, UCF has broken nine school records this year.
The NCAA East Regional takes place May 30-31 in Tallahassee, Fla.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel, log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also visit www.ucfphotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.