May 11, 2010
C-USA Championship Central
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ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - As the UCF track and field team gets set to host the Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships beginning Thursday, many individual Knights have their eyes set on claiming individual event titles. In 2009, the Knights had two individuals claim event titles as UCF battled Rice for the title before finishing second.
Sophomore Jackie Coward (Knoxville, Tenn.) enters the C-USA Championship as the top-seeded athlete in both the 100- and 400-meter hurdles. In the 100mH, Coward's seed time of 13.49 is nearly a half-second ahead of the next competitor. Winning the title will not be easy for the sophomore however, as teammate Tiki James (Miami, Fla.) will provide stiff competition. James has not run the 100mH this season due to injury, but is the school record holder in the event (13.03) and is slated to compete in Saturday's preliminaries, which are set for 6:45 p.m. Junior Micaela Wimberly (Miami, Fla.), seeded fourth, will also be in the mix after finishing third a season ago.
Coward will be defending her title in the 400-meter hurdles and enters as the favorite. The sophomore's seed time of 59.11 is nearly three seconds faster than any of her competition. Teammate Aisha-Maree Frazier (Marietta, Ga.) is seeded fifth (1:02.59). The 400mH prelims are slated for Saturday at 8:35 p.m.
Senior LaKendra Thames (Winter Garden, Fla.) will look for an upset win in two events, the shot put and the discus. Thames enters as the second seed behind SMU's Simone du Toit, the top seed and defending champion in both events. Thames has improved throughout the season, posting a personal best in the discus (166-6/50.75m) just last Thursday. The finals of the women's discus are set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. while the shot put finals will take place Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
Juniors Carley Dart (Whitby, Ontario) and Ocean Cohen (Sarasota, Fla.) will both be among the top seed in their respective running events. Dart, one of the most improved Knights in 2010, enters the 800-meter competition as the third seed (2:08.92) while Cohen is seeded fourth (36:20.88) in the 10,000-meter run. The 10,000-meter run is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Friday while the prelims of the 800-meter run are slated for 8:05 p.m. Saturday.
Sheila Paul (Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.) will be in the mix in both the 100- and 200-meter dash, as the sophomore is seeded fifth and seventh respectively in the events. The 100m prelims are Saturday at 7:40 p.m. with the 200m prelims beginning at 9 p.m. A full list of UCF entries is below.
Twenty teams and over 600 student-athletes will meet at the UCF Track & Field Complex for the event, which is being held in Orlando for the first time since UCF joined C-USA.
Tickets are currently available online and can also be purchased in person at the event. Ticket prices are $12 for adults and $7 for youth each day, and all session tickets cost $25 for adults and $15 for youths.
More information about the championships, including a schedule of events, records and live results, can be accessed at C-USA Championship Central.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to 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 UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
UCF Entry List
100m
5. Sheila Paul, 11.62
20. Tomika Story, 12.63
21. Jacquelyn Gilchrist, 12.68
22. Tiki James, No Time
200m
7. Sheila Paul, 23.92
21. Champelle Brown, 24.90
24. Micaela Wimberly, 25.03
400m
8. Champelle Brown, 55.34
12. Aisha-Maree Frazier, 56.74
18. Sonnisha Williams, 59.12
21. Dan'Elle Bellamy, 59.76
800m
3. Carley Dart, 2:08.92
3,000m Steeple
6. Jamie Rzepecki, 11:02.66
14. Mason Gardberg, 11:57.61
5000m
13. Erica Weitz, 17:52.96
14. Ocean Cohen, 17:57.14
23. Jamie Rzepecki, 19:20.26
10,000m
4. Ocean Cohen, 36:20.88
100mH
1. Jackie Coward, 13.49
4. Micaela Wimberly, 13.95
17. Ashley Bolling, 14.75
23. Tiki James, No Time
400mH
1. Jackie Coward, 59.11
5. Aisha-Maree Frazier, 1:02.59
4x100m
5. UCF, 45.62
4x400m
6. UCF, 3:44.53
High Jump
18. Samantha Shields, 1.54m
20. Sonnisha Williams, No Height
Pole Vault
7. Erica Weiss, 3.37m
Long Jump
5. Sonnisha Williams, 6.04m
9. Jacquelyn Gilchrist, 5.84m
11. Tomika Story, 5.77m
Triple Jump
8. Tomika Story, 12.01m
11. Jacquelyn Gilchrist, 11.33m
Shot Put
2. LaKendra Thames, 15.04m
Discus
2. LaKendra Thames, 50.75m
4. Jessica Francis, 46.62m
Hammer Throw
9. LaKendra Thames, 52.54m
19. Ashley Kirkpatrick, 47.26m
Heptathlon
15. Samantha Shields