Feb. 22, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF sophomore Jackie Coward (Knoxville, Tenn.) was recently named to the ESPN Rise Track and Field All-Decade All-American team. The team highlights the best high school track and field athletes over the past decade, with one All-American selected for each event. Coward, a 2008 graduate of Knoxville West High School, was named to the team as the 100-meter hurdler.
Coward had a stellar prep career before becoming a Knight in the fall of 2008. In outdoor events, she won the national Nike 100-meter hurdles and swept the Arcadia Invitational in 2007. She also won the Great Southwest 100-meter hurdles in 2008, posting a wind-aided time of 13.00, the second-best all-conditions time ever. Indoors, Coward twice won Nike titles in the 60-meter hurdles while also setting a high school record of 8.16 as a senior.
The current sophomore has not missed a beat since coming to Orlando. As a freshman, Coward earned NCAA Indoor All-American honors in the 60-meter hurdles when she finished seventh nationally. Outdoors, she qualified for the NCAA East Regionals in both the 100- and 400-meter hurdles. At the Conference USA Outdoor Championships, she claimed the individual event title in the 400-meter hurdles. She set UCF freshman records in the 60-, 100- and 400-meter hurdles.
In 2010, Coward has posted multiple NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the 60-meter hurdles. She enters this weekend's C-USA Indoor Championships as the second-best hurdler in the conference, behind teammate Tiki James.
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