June 17, 2011
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Junior Jackie Coward of the UCF women's outdoor track & field team has been named the 2011 Conference USA Female Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year as voted on by the league's head coaches. This is the second time this year that Coward has earned recognition from the league as she was also the recipient of the Female Track Athlete of the Year honor during the indoor season.
Coward finished the outdoor season a First Team All-American in the 100-meter hurdles for the second year in a row after claiming third place at the NCAA Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 11. The UCF junior improved on her fifth-place finish in 2010 with the third-place showing in 2011 while running an impressive 12.78 (+2.1) in the finals to become the first two-time First Team All-American in program history.
Coward also helped lead the Knights to a second straight C-USA Outdoor Championship this May with some impressive individual showings. The junior hurdler won both the 100- and 400-meter hurdles at Rice Stadium to earn C-USA Performer of the Meet honors.
In the finals of the 400-meter hurdles, Coward set a new C-USA Championship meet record as well a UCF program record time as she claimed the title in 57.59. She just missed setting a new record in the 100-meter hurdle finals by one-hundredth of a second as she crossed in 12.97
Due to an injury to another runner, Coward joined the 4x100-meter relay team at the NCAA Championships last weekend. Running the first leg in both the semifinals and finals, Coward helped the Knights to a fourth-place finish, the highest ever by a UCF relay team.
Coward also qualified for the NCAA East Preliminaries in Bloomington, Ind., in the 400-meter hurdles. Her six points in the 100-meter hurdles and the five points from the 4x100-meter relay team helped the Knights tie for 17th place; the highest finish ever for the program at nationals.
Tori Bowie of Southern Miss was named the Women's Field Athlete of the Year, while Richard Love of Memphis and Houston's Chris Carter were honored as the Men's Track Athlete and Men's Field Athletes of the Year.