June 17, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF track and field team recently concluded its 2009 season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. With impressive performances, school records and numerous NCAA participants in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, the 2009 campaign can easily be considered the best in school history. Second-year head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert sent a school-record five athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships and was also named the 2009 South Region Coach of the Year. Below is a look back at the team and individual highlights from the outdoor season.
Team Highlights
- Posted the program's highest finish at the NCAA East Regionals (ninth)
- Posted the program's highest finish at the C-USA Outdoor Championships (second)
- Sent a school-record five student-athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championships
- Had a school-record 10 athletes and one relay team qualify for the NCAA East Regionals
- Had 17 qualified entries for the NCAA East Regionals
- Broke 14 school event records, including 100-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, 400-meter hurdles, 800-meter run, 1,500-meter run, high jump, triple jump, discus, shot put, 4x100-meters, 4x100-meter shuttle hurdles, sprint medley and the 4x800-meters
- Won the ACCUSPLIT relay award for having the nation's best collegiate time in the 4x100-meter shuttle hurdles
- Won the shuttle hurdles relay at the historic Penn Relays
Individual Highlights
Caryl Smith Gilbert
- Named the 2009 South Region Coach of the Year
- One of only four women's coaches honored with a relay award at the ACCUSPLIT/Nike Coaches Party
Dione Thomas (Jacksonville, Fla. - Senior)
- Advanced to the NCAA Championships (triple jump)
- Finished fourth in the triple jump at the NCAA East Regionals
- Set a school record in the triple jump with a top mark of 43-5.75/13.25m
- Finished third and fourth respectively in the triple jump and the long jump at the C-USA Outdoor Championships.
- Had the nation's 14th-best mark in the triple jump in 2009
Tiki James (Miami, Fla - Junior)
- Advanced to the NCAA Championships and finished 12th in the 100-meter hurdles
- Finished second in the 100-meter hurdles at the NCAA East Regionals
- Set a school record in the 100-meter hurdles at the NCAA Regionals with a time of 13.03 seconds
- Finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles at the C-USA Outdoor Championships
- Part of the record-setting shuttle hurdles relay team which won the Penn Relays and an ACCUSPLIT relay award
Lizzie Harris (Miami, Fla. - Sophomore)
- Advanced to the NCAA Championships in the high jump and finished in 15th place
- Finished sixth in the high jump at the NCAA East Regionals
- Posted NCAA regional qualifiers in the 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and high jump
- Won the individual event title in the high jump at the C-USA Championships
- Tied the school record in the high jump at the C-USA Championships (5-11.25/11.81m)
- Set a school record in the 400-meter hurdles at the Florida Relays (58.92)
- Claimed the title in the 400-meter hurdles at the C-USA Championships before being disqualified for a lead-leg violation
- Part of the record-setting shuttle hurdles relay team which won the Penn Relays and an ACCUSPLIT relay award
Kelsey Poljansek (Milton, Kan. - Junior)
- Advanced to the NCAA Championships in the discus
- Qualified for NCAA East Regionals in both the shot put and the discus
- Reached the finals in both the discus and the shot put at the NCAA regionals, finishing sixth and ninth respectively
- Set the school record in the discus with a mark of 170-2/51.86m at the Iron Discus Classic, becoming the first UCF thrower to break the 170-foot mark
- Finished first in the discus on three separate occasions
LaKendra Thames (Winter Garden, Fla. - Junior)
- Advanced to the NCAA Championships in the discus
- Qualified for NCAA East Regionals in both the shot put and the discus
- Came out of the second flight to finish fourth in the discus at the NCAA East Regionals
- Set the school record and finished third in the shot put at the C-USA Championships with a mark of 49-6.50/15.10m
Jackie Coward (Knoxville, Tenn. - Freshman)
- Qualified for the NCAA East Regionals in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles
- Claimed the C-USA individual event title in the 400-meter hurdles at the C-USA Championships
- Set the freshman school records in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles
- Finished second at the C-USA Championships in the 100-meter hurdles
- Part of the record-setting shuttle hurdles relay team which won the Penn Relays and an ACCUSPLIT relay award
Sheila Paul (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. - Freshman)
- Qualified for the NCAA East Regionals in the 100- and 200-meter dash
- Broke the school and freshman records in both the 100- and 200-meter dash
- Finished in third place at the C-USA Outdoor Championships in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.51 seconds
Micaela Wimberly (Miami, Fla. - Sophomore)
- Qualified for the NCAA East Regionals in the 100-meter hurdles
- Finished third in the 100-meter hurdles at the C-USA Championships with a personal-best 13.51 seconds
- Part of the record-setting shuttle hurdles relay team which won the Penn Relays and an ACCUSPLIT relay award
Aisha-Maree Frazier (Marietta, Ga. - Freshman)
- Qualified for the NCAA East Regionals in the 400-meter hurdles
- Had a personal-best time of 1:00.46 in the season's first meet, UCF's Black & Gold Challenge