March 24, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UCF track and field sophomore Lizzie Harris (Miami, Fla.) was named the Conference USA Track and Field Athlete of the Week Tuesday for her strong performance in the Black & Gold Challenge on Saturday.
The award marks the second time in her career that Harris has earned the league's weekly honor. She also claimed the distinction as a freshman. It is the fourth weekly honor for the track and field program since joining the conference and the second of 2009. Junior Tiki James (Miami, Fla.) was named C-USA's Indoor Athlete of the Week on Jan. 20.
"Lizzie Harris has done a great job of helping our team this season," said head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert. "She was a little bit late to hit her stride because she had an injury in the fall, but it is nice to see her coming on strong. She is very comfortable running outdoors because she is from Miami and is used to running outdoors. We look forward to many strong performances from Lizzie in the coming weeks."
Harris cleared 5-10.75/1.80 in the high jump to win the event and post an NCAA regional qualifying mark. The sophomore won the event by nearly four inches over the next competitor.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Harris again set an NCAA regional qualifying mark with a time of 13.88. The UCF school record holder in the event finished in fourth place.
She was also a member of the 4x100-meter relay team that set a school record and posted a regional qualifying mark with a time of 45.22 seconds. Harris ran the second leg for the team which also included Tiki James (Miami, Fla.), Dione Thomas (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Sheila Paul (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.)
Harris and the Knights will remain in Orlando this weekend to host the UCF Invitational on March 27-28.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.