May 7, 2013
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By Jenna Marina
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Whether it is on the track or on the field, freshman Alexis Faulknor is a woman of many talents. Perhaps, though, most notably is her ability to juggle.
More often than not, Faulknor will take a timeout from competing in the long jump when she hears the final call to head to the start line for the 100 or 200 meters.
"They bump every meet. Every. Single. Meet," Faulknor said with a what-can-you-do-about-it? laugh. "I can't ever get a break."
Judging by the results this season, it appears she doesn't need one. The rookie from Los Angeles is the only Conference USA athlete to rank among the top 10 in the 100 meters, 200 meters and long jump during the 2013 outdoor season. Only one other athlete - Houston freshman Anasztazia Nguyen - ranks among the top 20 in all three.
She will head to the conference championships in Houston at Rice this weekend looking to help the Knights make history as the first team in C-USA history to win four consecutive outdoor titles.
Faulknor certainly was a boost at the indoor conference championships. She was named the Freshman of the Meet after earning bronze in the 60M and scoring points in the 200M and long jump. Should she defend her title this weekend, she would join the elite company of Aurieyall Scott (2011) and Octavious Freeman (2012) in sweeping the award at both the indoor and outdoor championships.
"I was so shocked when I won it at the indoor meet. I didn't even hear them call my name, but once Coach Caryl (Smith Gilbert) told me, I was so happy," Faulknor said. "I'm going to try to win it again. I just want to score as many points as I can for the team."
Faulknor was born to be a track and field athlete. Her father, Chris, represented Jamaica as a sprinter in the 1988 Olympics, and along with the rest of his teammates in the 4x100 relay, finished seventh-hundredths of a second shy of a medal.
Her mother Ann won the NCAA Division II triple jump title for four consecutive seasons at Abilene Christian.
By the age of five, Faulknor was already lacing up her spikes.
"My dad has told me he used to jog with me in the stroller. I just grew up around it (track) and I loved it," Faulknor said.
She led Los Angeles' Serra High School to the first state championship in school history in 2012 as a champion in the long jump and 4x100 relay and a silver medalist in the 100 and 200 meters. By the end of her senior year, she ranked among the country's top 10 high-schoolers in both the 100M and 200M.
She considered staying close to home for the next phase of her life, but she instead decided to move across the country to Orlando after taking a visit to UCF's campus.
While there's no denying the success Faulknor has enjoyed this season, she refuses to set a limit to what she can do. Every day she comes out to practice, her teammates are walking reminders of the goals she has set for herself.
"I want to be an All-American just like them," Faulknor said. "No matter how good they are -- how fast they can run or how far they can jump -- I'm still out there trying to beat them. It just makes me want to work harder."