AUSTIN, Texas (UCFKnights.com) – Four members of the UCF track and field team open the women’s running events at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship on Thursday evening in Austin.
Slated for an 8:02 p.m. ET start at Mike A. Myers, UCF races in the first heat of the 4x100 relay. ESPNU will provide coverage of the running events on Thursday beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Entering Thursday, UCF is seeded 12th in the event. In Jacksonville, UCF punched its ticket to Austin with a season-best mark of 43.72 to finish third in its heat and eighth overall.
UCF is no stranger to the NCAA Championships, having been represented at 10 of the last 11 championships. The Black and Gold also have 4x1 experience at the championship, qualifying a squad for five of the last seven.
The 2019 squad includes one junior, a pair of sophomores and a freshman. Two weeks ago, three of them – Shaniya Williams, Ciara Holback and Beyonce Defreitas – made their first collegiate postseason appearances at the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
The anchor leg – a substitution that was made the week that the Knights headed to Jacksonville for regional action – is the lone member of the squad with NCAA Championship experience. In her rookie campaign, Loren Gallmon was the third leg of the crew that finished 16th overall at the 2017 NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., earning Second Team All-America honors.
The Knights are one of three American Athletic Conference 4x1 squads competing in Austin, joining Houston and Cincinnati. UCF is also one of four Florida schools with 4x1 representation, as Miami, Jacksonville and Florida State join the Knights in Austin.
The top two teams in each heat, plus the next two best times will make up the eight-team field for the 4x1 finals on Saturday at 6:32 p.m. ET on ESPN2.