March 11, 2010
By Andrew Gavin
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Two UCF Knights will be competing to earn NCAA All-American distinctions for the second-straight season when the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships begin on Friday in Fayetteville, Ark. Senior Tiki James (Miami, Fla.) and sophomore Jackie Coward (Knoxville, Tenn.) have that opportunity in the 60-meter hurdles after qualifying for the national meet.
Hosted by Arkansas, the two NCAA Championships meet will be held at the Randal Tyson Track Center. Links to live results, live streaming and a complete schedule of events can be found at the official championship site.
James, a senior, took fifth place in the 2009 national championships to earn All-American honors. In 2010, she qualified for the championship meet with a season-best 8.19 at the Rod McCravy Invitational. That time ranks eighth nationally this season.
Coward was honored as an All-American last season after finishing seventh at the NCAA Championships. She recently edged James by one one-hundredth of a second to win an individual event championship at the 2010 Conference USA Championships. Her time of 8.24 in that race was a season-best and ranks 12th nationally this season.
The two Knights will compete in the preliminaries Friday evening at 6:40 EST. Coward will run in heat two while James is scheduled in heat three. The winners of the three preliminary heats plus the top-five times from the rest of the field will advance to Saturday's final.
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.