Feb. 15, 2011
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Junior Jackie Coward (Knoxville, Tenn.) of the UCF indoor track & field team has been named the Conference USA Female Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday. Coward earned her fist-career indoor accolade after breaking her own school record in the 60-meter hurdles at the Tyson Invitational with an automatic NCAA qualifying time of 8.06 to claim first place.
Coward broke her previous record of 8.16 in the preliminaries with an 8.09. She would go on to run an 8.08 in the semis before setting the new mark of 8.06 in the finals. Coward finished first through each round of heats to claim the first-place finish Friday.
The new UCF record of 8.06 is also tied for the best mark in the event in the country this year. USC's Nia Ali also ran an 8.06 earlier in the season, a time that Coward has now equaled.
Coward was also part of the Knight's 4x400-meter relay team that set a new school record at the Tyson Invitational of 3:36.03. The time is the fifth fastest by any team in the nation in 2011.
Sophomore Sonnisha Williams was tabbed as the C-USA Athlete of the Week on Jan. 25 and is the only other Knight to claim the award this season.
UCF will return to the track next weekend at Houston's Yeoman Fieldhouse on Feb. 26-27 for the Conference USA Indoor Championships.