April 27, 2013
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By Jenna Marina
UCFAthletics.com
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UCFAthletics.com) - In every distance event this year - indoor or outdoor - freshman Anne-Marie Blaney has never disappointed, improving her personal best in each race and rewriting the UCF record book time and again.
Saturday was no exception as the Knights' distance darling eclipsed her own 1,500-meter freshman record with a time of 4:38.18 for sixth place at the Arkansas Invitational. It was the highlight of the meet as UCF clinched 13 top-three finishes despite the dreary, sub-50 degree weather.
The Knights went 1-2 in the 100 meters thanks to the dynamic duo of Octavious Freeman and Aurieyall Scott. Freeman claimed first place in 11.17 (+0.3) and Scott crossed the line in second at 11.41 (+0.3). Their times again rank among the top 20 in the country this season.
Freshman Alexis Faulknor (11.88) and senior Jen Clayton (12.02, +0.5) pulled double duty, taking a timeout in the long jump to finish sixth and seventh, respectively, in the race.
They then returned to the long jump, where Clayton won by matching her season-best leap of 6.17m/20-03 (-0.8), which continues to stand among the East Region's top 20. Senior Sonnisha Williams' first attempt of 6.06m/19-10.75 (-0.4) was good enough to secure second place and Faulknor posted her strongest mark of the day, 5.85m/19-02.50, after returning from her 100-meter performance to finish sixth. All three marks rank among Conference USA's top 10.
UCF also dominated in the 200 meters by claiming three of the top-four finishes. Scott led the way in first place 23.39 (+0.2) and was followed by Freeman's second-place showing of 23.79 (+0.2). Faulknor recorded 24.23 (+0.2) for fourth place. Senior Lutisha Bowen got off to an early lead in the 100 hurdles and never looked back, cruising to another win with a time of 13.67 (-0.8).
Williams fell just short of matching her personal record in the high jump, but she did hit a new season-best 1.72m/5-07.75 for second place, moving up to No. 7 in the conference standings.
In a field that included two of the NCAA East Region's top-10 400-meter runners, Afia Charles finished third with her second-best time of the outdoor season, 53.85.
In the 400 hurdles, Sandy Jean clocked 59.18 to finish runner-up to Florida's Ugonna Ndu, who sits one spot ahead of Jean on the East Region standings at No. 3 this year. Junior Ne'Ausha Logan also earned second place in her signature event, the 800 meters, with a time of 2:11.67.
Freshman Heather Classe earned her second top-three finish of the season in the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:27.25.
Cox Sports Television (CST) recorded action Saturday for a tape-delay broadcast, which will air Thursday, May 2, at 8 p.m. (ET). UCF heads to Tallahassee for the Florida State Twilight on May 3-4.