No. 9 Knights Set to Challenge For C-USA Indoor Track & Field ChampionshipNo. 9 Knights Set to Challenge For C-USA Indoor Track & Field Championship

No. 9 Knights Set to Challenge For C-USA Indoor Track & Field Championship

Feb. 24, 2011

C-USA Heat Sheets in PDF Format

2011 C-USA Indoor performance List in PDF Format

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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Winners of last spring's outdoor championships, the No. 9 UCF women's indoor track team will look for its first title at the Conference USA Championships when it runs at Houston's Yeoman Fieldhouse this weekend. The Knights will take on the rest of the 11 teams from C-USA beginning on Friday morning and continuing through Saturday evening. It marks the tenth-straight year that the event will be held at Houston's facility.

UCF finished fifth in last season's championship with 60 points, one season removed from posting its best finish of third and 86 points. The Knights will be competing in 13 events total this weekend.

Six members of the team are scheduled to run in the 60 meters set to get underway Friday night. Freshmen Dominique Booker (7.24) and Aurieyall Scott (7.29) have the two fastest times in the event by anyone in the conference in 2011. Booker's time in an NCAA automatic qualifier in the event and will have her running at the NCAA National Championships the second week of March at Texas A&M.

Also in the 60 meters, junior Sheila Paul's time of 7.38 ranks fourth in C-USA, while senior Lynne Layne's 7.41 ranks sixth. Senior Mica Wimberly and freshman Tyler Smith will round out the UCF contingent in the event. Paul was the 2009 C-USA Champion in this event in 7.44.

Scott, Booker, Paul and Smith will also represent the Knights in the 200 meters in Houston. Scott's 23.17, set at Penn State, ranks as the top time in the event by a C-USA athlete this season. Booker's 23.26, also at Penn State, ranks second, while Paul's 23.68 set two weeks ago at the Tyson Invitation in Arkansas is the third fastest time in the league.

In the 400 meters, senior Champelle Brown and freshman Afia Charles will represent the Knights. Brown's school-record time of 54.31 at Arkansas ranks as the second-best mark in the conference with Charles' personal-best 56.15 ranking sixth.

Two freshmen and one senior will make up the three UCF runners in the 800 meters. Freshmen Erica Winston and Ne'Ausha Logan will make their first appearance at the C-USA Championships alongside senior Carley Dart.

UCF's runners in the 60-meter hurdles have four of the top five times in the league in the event this season. Junior Jackie Coward's 8.06 at the Tyson Invitational was not only an NCAA automatic qualifying time and a new program record, but also tied for the top time in the nation in 2011 with USC's Nia Ali. Coward will look to defend her title in this event from last season which she won in 8.24. Senior Karessa Farley's 8.36 ranks second in Conference USA, while Wimbery is fourth (8.39) and freshman Ashley Bolling is fifth (8.48).

The Knights' school-record time of 3:36.03 in the 4x400-meter relay is the best in the conference by more than five seconds. Houston's 3:41.96 is the second-best time by any team in the conference this season. However, UCF has posted three times better than the Cougars' top time. Running a then school record 3:41.15 to open the season in Kentucky, the team followed with a 3:41.53 at Penn State before setting the current record two weeks ago in Arkansas. UCF will also compete in the Distance Medley Relay.

Sophomore Sonnisha Williams' 5-6.5/1.69m was good enough for first place at the Hokie Invitational and ranks tenth in the league in the high jump. Like Williams in the high jump, junior Tomika Story will be the lone Knight in the triple jump. Story's 39-5.25/12.02m at the Jimmy Carnes Indoor Meet at Florida was the sixth-best mark in the conference.

Williams will also lead four members of UCF in the long jump. Her school-record and NCAA provisional-qualifying jump of 20-9.0/6.32m at the Hokie Invitational was second overall this season. Junior Jacquelyn Gilchrist ranks eighth (19-1.25/5.82m), while Story ranks 11th (18-8.75/5.71m). Layne rounds out the four with the ninth-best mark this season (18-11.25/5.77m).

In the pole vault, sophomore Erica Weiss and freshman London Enos will compete for the Knights. Weiss ranks fourth with her school-record vault of 11-11.75/3.65m, while Enos is eighth with a height of 10-8.0/3.25m.

Freshman Sandy Jean will be the lone representative for UCF in the pentathlon which is set to begin Friday morning. Jean set a UCF freshman record in the event at Penn State on Jan. 28 with 3,303 points. She set personal bests that day in the 60-meter hurdles, 800 meters, the long jump and the shot put.

The Knights' young throwers of freshmen Destinee Romain and Satrina Oliveira will be making their C-USA debut in the shot put. Romain ranks eighth in the event with a throw of 42.-5.25/12.93m and a second-place finish at UNC's Dick Taylor Invitational two weeks ago. Oliveira's top throw of 40-4.75/12.31m placed her third at the Dick Taylor, while ranking 15th in the league in 2011.

UTEP is the defending champion in indoors and finished second in outdoors last season after UCF stormed back to win its first league title on its home track with a strong final day.

2011 C-USA INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD OF EVENTS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011
Combined Events
9:00 a.m. Pentathlon 60H
9:30 a.m. Heptathlon 60m
9:30 a.m. Pentathlon High Jump
9:30 a.m. Heptathlon Long Jump
9:30 a.m. Pentathlon Shot Put
9:30 a.m. Heptathlon Shot Put
9:30 a.m. Pentathlon Long Jump
9:30 a.m. Heptathlon High Jump
9:30 a.m. Pentathlon 800m

Field Events
3:00 p.m. 35lb Weight Throw (M)
4:00 p.m. High Jump (W)
5:00 p.m. Pole Vault (M)
5:00 p.m. Long Jump (M)
6:00 p.m. 20lb Weight Throw (W)
7:30 p.m. Long Jump (W)

Running Events

5:00 p.m. 5000m Final (M)
5:30 p.m. 5000m Final (W)
6:00 p.m. 800m Trial (M)
6:20 p.m. 800m Trial (W)
6:40 p.m. 60m Trial (M)
7:00 p.m. 60m Trial (W)
7:20 p.m. 400m Trial (M)
7:40 p.m. 400m Trial (W)
8:00 p.m. 60m hurdles Trial (M)
8:20 p.m. 60m hurdles Trial (W)
8:40 p.m. 200m Trial (M)
9:00 p.m. 200m Trial (W)
9:20 p.m. DMR Final (M)
9:40 p.m. DMR Final (W)

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2011

Combined Events
11:00 a.m. Heptathlon 60H
11:00 a.m. Heptathlon Pole Vault
11:00 a.m. Heptathlon 1000M

Field Events
1:00 p.m. Shot Put (M)
1:00 p.m. High Jump (M)
1:00 p.m. Triple Jump (W)
3:30 p.m. Shot Put (W)
4:00 p.m. Pole Vault (W)
4:00 p.m. Triple Jump (M)

Running Events

3:00 p.m. Mile (M)
3:20 p.m. Mile (W)
3:35 p.m. 60m hurdles (M)
3:45 p.m. 60m hurdles (W)
3:55 p.m. 400m (M)
4:05 p.m. 400m (W)
4:20 p.m. 60m (M)
4:30 p.m. 60m (W)
4:40 p.m. 800m (M)
4:50 p.m. 800m (W)
5:00 p.m. 200m (M)
5:10 p.m. 200m (W)
5:25 p.m. 3000m (M)
5:55 p.m. 3000m (W)
6:20 p.m. 4x400m Relay (M)
6:35 p.m. 4x400m Relay (W)
7:00 p.m. Awards Presentation