May 17, 2015
Credit: American Athletic Conference
UCF Athletics Social Media Directory
By Dan Forcella
UCFKnights.com
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STORRS, Conn. (UCFKnights.com) -- Sophomore J'Nea Bellamy won the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash and led the Knights' 4x100 meter relay team to a victory at the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships on Sunday. She was named the meet's Most Outstanding Tracker Performer following the competition.
"This week has been pretty up-and-down for the whole team so my goal was just to go out here, run hard and bring home as many points as I could for the team," Bellamy said. "That's what I did so I'm proud of myself and I'm proud of the team for putting up a fight."
UCF came into the final day of competition in a tie for ninth place out of 11 teams. The Knights rallied, winning four events, but ultimately came up short. They finished fourth with 92 points, trailing just conference champion SMU (131), host UConn (125) and Cincinnati (117).
Bellamy started the day by helping UCF's 4x100 team to a win in the first even on the track Sunday. Joined by Kirsten Nieuwendam, Christal Peterson and Briana Vaughn, the Knights set a new meet record with a winning time of 44.47 seconds.
The sophomore then took home gold in the 100 meter dash with a personal best and meet record time of 11.49 seconds. Peterson joined her on the podium with a third place finish, crossing the line in a personal best 11.58 seconds.
For her final performance of the day, Bellamy cruised to a win in the 200 meters, recording yet another personal best and meet record time. She crossed the line in 23.06 seconds, which also set a stadium record. Vaughn placed fourth in the event with a time of 23.62 seconds.
"I just want to carry the momentum over to regionals," Bellamy said. "I want to make it to nationals. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling healthy, so I'm just trying to keep running and hopefully I make it."
Senior Sandy Jean was the only other Knight to win an event on the weekend. After recording the fastest time in qualifying, she defended her title in the 400 meter hurdles with a winning time of 58.70 seconds.
The Knights earned all-conference honors in two more events on Sunday, placing in the top three in the 100 meter hurdles and the 4x400 meter relay. Freshman Johna' Whitaker took third in the hurdles with a personal best and UCF freshman record time of 13.43 seconds.
In the final event of the day, the Knights' relay team placed second in the 4x400 even though Jean had to pull out before the race started. Ne'Ausha Logan took her place, joining Ashley Jocelyn, Kirsten Nieuwendam and Terika Henry to record a season-best time of 3:34.67.
Jocelyn had a great day at the track, also placing sixth in the 400 with a new personal best. She crossed the line in 52.92 seconds, topping her previous record of 53.68, which she set in preliminary competition.
Senior Amelia Williams and freshman Rosie Chamberlain also earned the Knights a total of eight points in the 800 meters. Williams placed fourth in a personal best time of 2:07.48, while Chamberlain took sixth in 2:10.30.
A number of Knights will now look forward to competing at the NCAA East Region Championships. The meet takes place May 28-30 in Jacksonville.
UCF All-Conference Performers
First Team
100M: J'Nea Bellamy
200M: J'Nea Bellamy
400H: Sandy Jean
4x100: J'Nea Bellamy, Kirsten Nieuwendam, Christal Peterson, Briana Vaughn
Second Team
4x400: Kirsten Nieuwendam, Terika Henry, Ashley Jocelyn, Ne'Ausha Logan
Third Team
100M: Christal Peterson
100H: Johna' Whitaker
Hammer: Kalen Hambrick