(Photo Courtesy of Simone Amaduzzi/American Athletic Conference)
ORLANDO – The UCF track and field team is set to begin NCAA East Preliminary action on Thursday in Jacksonville.
Eight members of the UCF track and field team, plus the 4x400 relay squad, will compete at the preliminary round on Jax Track at Hodges Stadium. The first round of track events plus the long jump will take place on Thursday beginning at 3 p.m. Quarterfinal track action, the 4x4 and triple jump are slated for Saturday, starting at 3:15 p.m.
Rayniah Jones has qualified in two events at the NCAA East Regional. The Miami native enters the meet ranked second in the 100-meter hurdles thanks to a school record mark of 12.73. The redshirt freshman nearly matched the time while taking the title with an American Athletic Conference meet record 12.76 in the event last weekend. Jones will also compete in the 100-meter dash. She ranks 11th in the event after running a personal best 11.23 at The American Championship.
UCF will be represented by two Knights in the 100-meter hurdles as Alexis Woodley joins Jones at regionals. The Chesapeake, Va., native ran a personal best 13.24 in the finals at The American Championship to finish fifth overall. While she'll be making her first regional appearance as a Knight, Woodley has now qualified for three consecutive regionals in the 100-meter dash.
A personal best 53.88 in the 400-meter dash qualified Latasha Smith for her first regional appearance. The West Palm Beach, Fla., native's time made her the top collegiate finisher at the Knights Invite on April 24. She was also UCF's top finisher in the event at The American Championship, posting a fourth-place performance over the weekend.
Four days after tying the UCF record in the 1500-meter run, Charlotte Crook will make her first regional appearance. The Preston, England, native earned all-conference honors in the event with a personal best 4:21.64 at The American Championship. The sophomore tied the school record, set by Anne-Marie Blaney in 2017. Crook is the first Knight to represent UCF in the 1500m at regionals.
A personal best performance in the 400-meter hurdles qualified Selena Wright for her first NCAA East Regional. The Elgin, Texas, native ran 1:00.29 to advance to the finals at The American Championship. Wright is the first Knight to advance to regionals in the 400H since 2017.
For the first time since 2013, UCF will be represented at regionals in both the long jump and the triple jump.
Jasmine Scott-Kilgo, in her first season at UCF, landed at 20-5/6.22m at The American Championship, which carried her to fifth place and a spot in Jacksonville.
Two Knights will compete in the triple jump in Jacksonville. Fresh off an American Athletic Conference title, Asherah Collins enters the weekend ranked 14th in the event. The Lake City, Fla., who opened the outdoor season with the UCF freshman record in the event, bettered her mark to 42-11.5/13.09m to claim the Black and Gold's first triple jump title as members of The American.
Kiara Lee will join Collins in the triple jump. The Madison, Wisc., native qualified for her first regional with a personal best mark of 42-0.5/12.81m.
For the first time since 2017, UCF is sending its 4x4 relay to the NCAA East Regional. The Knights enter regionals ranked 13th with a season-best mark of 3:35.82.
Ticket information, live stats and video links, along with a full preliminary round schedule, can be found here.
The top 12 individuals in each event, along with the top 12 relay teams, will earn a spot at the NCAA Championships, which runs from June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore.
UCF Participant Schedule
Thursday, May 27
3 p.m. – Long Jump (Jasmine Scott-Kilgo)
6 p.m. – 100H First Round (Rayniah Jones, Alexis Woodley)
6:30 p.m. – 1500m First Round (Charlotte Crook)
7 p.m. – 100m First Round (Rayniah Jones)
7:25 p.m. – 400m First Round (Latasha Smith)
8:20 p.m. – 400H First Round (Selena Wright)
Saturday, May 29
3:15 p.m. – Triple Jump (Asherah Collins, Kiara Lee)
5:45 p.m. – 1500m Quarterfinal
6:45 p.m. – 100H Quarterfinal
7:05 p.m. – 100m Quarterfinal
7:20 p.m. – 400m Quarterfinal
7:55 p.m. – 400H Quarterfinal
9:15 p.m. – 4x4 Quarterfinal
