April 12, 2009
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF track and field team had a stellar performance Saturday at the Miami Elite Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla., posting nine NCAA regional qualifying marks during the competition.
Junior Kelsey Poljansek (Milton, Kan.) continued a strong season with two more qualifying marks and two more event wins. Poljansek took first in the discus with a best throw of 161-2/49.13m and claimed first in the shot put with a top mark of 49-3/15.01m. The junior holds the school records in both events.
Freshman Sheila Paul (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.) was also impressive in multiple events, setting a NCAA mark in the 100-meter dash and breaking both the school and freshman records in the 200-meter dash. Paul was the top collegiate finisher in both events, running the 100-meter dash in 11.74 and crossing the line in the 200-meter dash in 23.98 seconds.
In the 100-meter hurdles, a trip of Knights posted an NCAA regional qualifying mark. Junior Tiki James (Miami, Fla.) was the top collegiate finisher at 13.43 (+3.2), freshman Jackie Coward (Knoxville, Tenn.) was next in 13.54 (+3.2) and sophomore Micaela Wimberly (Miami, Fla.) finished in 13.89 seconds. For the second-straight week, James missed setting the school record in the event due to the reading on the wind guage.
Coward joined teammate Lizzie Harris (Miami, Fla.) in recording qualifiers in the 400-meter hurdles. Harris as the top collegiate qualifier at 59.68 while Coward was just behind her with a time of 1:00.44.
In perhaps the performance of the day for the Knights, senior Shantile Blackburn (Brooklyn, N.Y.) bested the previous school record in the 800-meter run by nearly two seconds. She finished first in the event by over four seconds, finishing in 2:06.96. The time was also an NCAA regional qualifier.
UCF will take next weekend off before returning for a pair of events the weekend of April 23-25. The Knights will send squads to both the Penn Relays Carnival in Philadelphia, Pa., as well as the UC San Diego/U.S. Olympic Committee Invitational in San Diego, Calif.
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.
Miami Elite Invitational
April 11, 2009
Long Jump
3. Jacqueline Gilchrist, 18-2.25/5.54m
High Jump
1. Lizzie Harris, 5-7.0/1.70m
Pole Vailt
T3. Brittney McDermott, 10-8.0/3.25m
Discus
1. Kelsey Poljansek, 161-2/49.13m (N)
5. April Downey, 128-11/39.29m
7. Jessica Francis, 126-7/38.59m
Hammer
2. Kelsey Poljansek, 150-11/46.00m
3. Ashley Kirkpatrick, 144-5/44.01m
6. Jessica Francis, 128-4/39.13m
Javelin
3. April Downey, 107-8/32.83m
8. Samantha Shields, 97-7/29.75m
12. Ashley Kirkpatrick, 76-6/23.31m
16. Jessica Francis, 70-2/21.40m
Shot Put
1. Kelsey Poljansek, 49-3/15.01m (N)
100m
11. Sheila Paul, 11.74 (+0.0) (N)
22. Dione Thomas, 12.12 (+0.8)
27. Tiki James, 12.27 (+0.7)
100mH
5. Tiki James, 13.43 (+3.2) (N)
6. Jackie Coward, 13.54 (+3.2) (N)
8. Micaela Wimberly, 13.89 (+1.7) (N)
11. Ashley Bolling, 14.73 (+1.7)
200m
11. Sheila Paul, 23.98 (+0.3) (SR, FR)
38. Dan'Elle Bellamy, 26.29 (+0.1)
43. Samantha Shields, 26.66 (+0.1)
400m
20. Dan'Elle Bellamy, 59.36
400mH
2. Lizzie Harris, 59.68 (N)
4. Jackie Coward, 1:00.44 (N)
6. Natalie Braddock, 1:02.54
7. Olinka Crusoe, 1:05.08
8. Jacquelyn Gilchrist, 1:05.46
13. Shenevia Patterson, 1:07.68
18. Michelle Ranc, 1:14.51
800m
1. Shantile Blackburn, 2:06.96 (N, SR)
6. Carley Dart, 2:13.23
1500m
11. Katrina Skinner, 5:00.47
3000m steeplechase
1. Jamie Rzepecki, 11:10.29 (MR)
2. Erica Weitz, 11:46.02
Key
N - NCAA regional qualifying mark
SR - school record
FR - freshman record
MR - meet record