CLEMSON, S.C. (UCFKnights.com) The UCF track & field team wrapped up its opening meet of the 2019 indoor season at the Clemson Invitational at the Clemson University Indoor Complex. The Knights posted two podium finishes, including one event win, and nine personal bests.
“Today was another solid day for us,” head coach Dana Boone said. “We had a few lifetime bests and three more personal bests. I was really pleased about the effort the team competed with today. Of course, we have way more work to do, but we are heading in the right direction.”
For the second day in a row, the throwers had a solid performance for the Black and Gold. Gabby Durant finished with the top mark in the weight throw, a personal best of 20.00m/65-7.5ft, just a half meter off of the program record.
Jhane’ Carter joined Durant on the podium with a 18.36m/60-3ft heave, good for third place. Shanell Atkins finished just off the podium in fourth with a toss of 17.38m/57ft. Freshman Soteria Russell came in sixth in her first collegiate meet with a 15.81m/51-10.5ft effort.
Victoria Jung smashed her previous personal best by nearly 10 seconds as she finished 10th in the 3,000-meter run in 10:17.15.
The Knights notched a pair of top-10 finishes in the triple jump. Daneesha Davidson placed sixth with a personal best of 12.42m/40-9ft, and Briana Potter was ninth with a jump of 11.16m/36-7.5ft.
The 200-meter run featured four personal bests from the six Knights that competed in the event. Ciara Holback led the way with an eighth-place finish with a time of 23.95. Shian Hyde followed in 11th with a time of 24.24. Loren Gallmon and Zharia Moore also added personal bests with times of 24.68 and 25.53, respectively.
Katie Pinnell notched a top-15 finish in the 800-meter run in her first event with a time of 2:18.03, good for 13th. Kaitlyn Soltis came across the line in 2:20.46 to finish in 16th.
The Knights concluded the meet with two solid outings by the 1600-meter relay squads. Gallmon, Holback, Nelda Huggins and Jayda Drake-Howard placed seventh in a time of 3:46.70, while Pinnell, Soltis, Imani Clark and Devin D’Oliveira followed four spots behind with a time of 3:54.23.
UP NEXT
UCF will head back to Clemson next weekend for the Bob Pollack Invitational on Jan. 25 and 26.