EUGENE, Ore. (UCFKnights.com) – For the ninth straight year, UCF is heading to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The 4x100 relay team will begin competition in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday.
The 4x1 semifinal is slated for a 7:32 p.m. ET/4:32 p.m. PT start. ESPN2 will provide coverage of Thursday's events beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.
At the NCAA East Preliminary on May 27, Ashley Jocelyn, J'Nea Bellamy, Loren Gallmon and SheKara Martin turned in the 11th-fastest time of the day to advance to the semifinals. Thirteen days after posting their fastest time of the season (44.69) at the American Athletic Conference Championship, the squad lowered the mark to 44.44 at regionals.
The crew enters Thursday's race ranked 18th in the event and will race in lane eight of the second heat. The Knights will aim to earn one of the eight spots in Saturday's final. The top two in each of the three heats will qualify automatically with two more advancing on time to the final.
Thursday will mark the fourth time in the last five seasons that UCF has had a 4x100 relay team competing in Eugene. J'Nea Bellamy makes her third appearance at nationals, as she was a member of the 2014 and 2015 relays and competed in the 100 and 200-meter dash in 2015.