April 22, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF track and field team gets competition underway Thursday in three events, including the 115th Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., the Pumping Iron Discus Classic in Chula Vista, Calif., and the Triton Invitational in San Diego, Calif.
The Penn Relays Carnival, which takes place at historic Franklin Field, annually attracts packed crowds and is considered the world's largest annual track and field meet. Over 1,300 different high school, college and professional teams from both across the country and outside of it are scheduled to compete in the meet, which is being hosted by Penn.
There will be twelve UCF athletes competing in the Penn Relays, including Shantile Blackburn (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Ocean Cohen (Sarasota, Fla.), Jackie Coward (Knoxville, Tenn.), Carley Dart (Sarasota, Fla.), Jacqueline Gilchrist (Tallahassee, Fla.), Lizzie Harris (Miami, Fla.), Tiki James (Miami, Fla.), Sheila Paul (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.), Jamie Rzepecki (East Aurora, N.Y.), Dione Thomas (Jacksonville, Fla.), Erica Weitz (Morganville, N.J.) and Micaela Wimberly (Miami, Fla.).
Four throwers will be competing for UCF in the two meets in California, including April Downey (Melbourne, Fla.), Jessica Francis (Orlando, Fla.), Ashley Kirkpatrick (Lake Mary, Fla.) and Kelsey Poljansek (Milton, Kan.). The Pumping Iron Classic is being hosted at the Olympic Training Center, and the Triton Classic is hosted by the University of California.
Through four events in the outdoor season, the Knights have had considerable success. In the four events, UCF has posted 26 NCAA regional qualifying marks and established school records in nine different events.
The program has also claimed Conference USA Athlete of the Week honors twice during the outdoor season with Harris and Poljansek earning the honor in back-to-back weeks.
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.