Jan. 31, 2011
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After several members of the UCF indoor track & field spent the last two days at the Penn State National Invitational, the reaming members of the Knights ran at the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Meet Sunday at the University of Florida's O'Connell Center. In all, six Knights set personal records on the final afternoon of the two-day event in Gainesville.
"It was good to finally have everyone on the team out there competing this weekend," assistant coach Paul Brown said. "There are some areas where we still need to grow. Our jumpers need to be more consistent and our middle distance runners are working to get better every meet.
"Overall I was pleased with how we ran today. A couple of the girls were running for the first time this season and it was good to see them go out and do well," Brown added.
Becoming the first UCF runner to compete in the 55-meter dash this season, Jacquelyn Gilchrist ran a 7.42, a new personal-best time as she finished 23rd overall.
Sophomore Sonnisha Williams was the lone Knight in the 200 meters, running a 25.06 and finishing seventh. Williams also placed first in the long jump with a mark of 19-10.25/6.05m. She was joined by Gilchrist and Tomika Story in the event. Gilchrist posted a mark of 19-0.00/5.79m to finish third overall, while Story was 11th with a jump of 17-8.00/5.38m.
Following the long jump, Story won the triple jump with a mark of 39-5.25/12.02m. Her jump was more than a foot farther than second-place Ashani Roberts of FAU.
Sophomore Mason Gardberg may have had the performance of the day for the Knights. Running in the 3,000 meters, Gardberg eclipsed her previous PR time by more than 10 seconds as she finished in 10:39.49 for 21st. Gardberg's previous best time in the event came at last year's Jimmy Carnes when she ran an 11:49.98.
Ashley Bolling was the only member of the Knights to run in the 55-meter hurdles at the O'Connell Center. In the semifinals, Bolling ran a personal-best time of 8.09, as she qualified for the finals fifth. In the finals, Bolling ran an 8.36.
In the 400 meters, freshman Dan'Elle Bellamy was 11th in 59.24, while Eva Pierce, running in her first race of the season, placed 19th overall with a new personal record of 1:00.58.
The 800 meters featured three UCF runners in the top 10 led by senior Carley Dart in third. Dart led the Knights' contingent with a time of 2:17.36, while freshmen Ne'Ausha Logan and Erica Winston were the next two UCF runners to finish. Logan's time of 2:19.46 was sixth with Winston's 2:20.77 good for 10th.
The Knights' 4x400-meter relay team was comprised of the three runners from the 800-meter race as well as Aisha-Maree Frazier. Despite three members of the relay team running in the 800, UCF placed first on Sunday in 3:51.69. The Distance Medley Relay team also ran at the O'Connell Center, placing fifth in 13:51.69.
Another Knight making her season debut was Danielle Scaffidi in the mile. The freshman set a personal record in the indoor event, crossing 12th in 5:27.29.
The UCF vaulters also enjoyed a successful day as sophomore Erica Weiss set a new personal record, clearing 11-11.75/3.65m to finish fourth. That height was a new school record, eclipsing the previosu mark of 11-11.75 by Katie Fowke on Feb. 24, 2007. Freshman London Enos was 11th overall with a height of 10-6.00/3.20m.
The Knights will enjoy a week of rest before heading to the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Feb. 11-12.