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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF women's indoor track & field team jumped one spot to No. 14 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national rankings. The Knights made the move up after strong performances at the Penn State National Invitational and Jimmy Carnes Indoor Meet this past weekend.
Ranked 34th in the preseason, UCF made its first-ever appearance in the Top 25 last week in the No. 15 slot after meets at Kentucky and Virginia Tech to open the season.
"It's nice to be ranked again," head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert. "We had some solid marks this past weekend. We are still looking for those marks from the whole team, but I am confident that we are going to start to see those in the coming weeks, starting at the Tyson Invitational."
Competing at one of the largest meets in the country at Penn State, several Knights set personal records. Freshman Aurieyall Scott broke her own school and freshman record in the 200 meters, crossing in an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 23.17. The 4x400-meter relay team won the unseeded division and placed third overall in 3:41.53; ahead of teams from Clemson, Georgetown and Virginia Tech in the invitational heats.
Those members of the team that did not make the trip to Penn State travelled to the Jimmy Carnes Meet in Gainesville Sunday. Erica Weiss broke the school record in the pole vault with a height of 11-11.75/3.65m, while fellow sophomore Sonnisha Williams won the long jump with a mark of 19-10.25/6.05m. The Knights' 4x400-meter relay team competing Sunday also won, crossing in 3:51.35.
Oregon retains the No. 1 spot for the second-straight week, while Texas A&M, LSU, Clemson, Tennessee and Arkansas all held on to their spots and round out the top six teams.
UCF will have a week off to prepare for next weekend's Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Feb. 11-12.