June 22, 2011
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF season continues this weekend at the 2011 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. The meet will take place Thursday through Sunday at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
Four members of the Knights will represent the program this weekend as juniors Sheila Paul and Jackie Coward will compete in the senior meet, while freshmen Tyler Smith and Aurieyall Scott will run in the junior meet.
Paul, a Second Team All-American, will compete in the 100 meters. The first round is scheduled for an 8:20 p.m. ET start time on Thursday evening with the finals taking place Friday at 3:45 p.m. ET.
A First Team All-American in the 100-meter hurdles in each of the last two seasons, Coward will represent the Knights in the event at the USA Championships for the second year in a row. The junior hurdler finished third in the 100-meter hurdles two weeks ago at Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa, with a 12.78 that was just barely deemed wind-aided. She will look to improve on last season's 13.50 in the first round which failed to qualify her for the finals.
Coward's first round heat is scheduled to begin at 4:20 p.m. ET on Saturday, while the finals are set to get underway at 5:37 p.m. ET on Sunday.
UCF's other First Team All-American, Scott, will compete in the 100 meters in the junior meet. Scott has also qualified for the 200 meters, an event which she finished 10th in at the NCAA Championships, but has been given the option to decide prior to the start of the race whether she will participate or not.
Smith will join Scott in the 100 meters of the junior meet this weekend in Oregon. The first round of this event is slated for a 2 p.m. ET start time on Friday with the finals set to begin just a little under two hours later at 3:45 p.m. ET.
The USA Championships serve as the selection event for the coveted spots to represent Team USA at the IAAF World Championships Aug. 27- Sept. 4 in Daegu, South Korea. The junior meet will serve as the selection event for the 2011 Pan American Junior Championships and a spot on Team USA.
Past, present and future Olympic and World Champions will be competing at the meet this weekend, including men's stars Tyson Gay (100 meters), Nick Symmonds (800 meters), Bryan Clay and Trey Hardee (decathlon), David Oliver (110 hurdles) and Jesse Williams (high jump), as well as women's standouts Allyson Felix (100 meters), Lolo Jones (100 meter hurdles), Lauren Fleshman (5,000 meters) and Shalane Flanagan (10,000 meters), among others.
Fans can follow the action this weekend live on ESPN2, Universal and NBC.
ESPN2, June 24 11:00 pm-1:00 am ET
ESPN2 Re-air, June 25 1:00 -3:00 pm ET
Universal, June 25 3:00-4:30 pm ET
NBC, June 25 5:00-6:00 pm ET
Universal, June 26 3:00-4:00 pm ET
NBC, June 26 5:00-6:00 pm ET