GAINESVILLE – The UCF track and field team closed out the Tom Jones Memorial in record-setting fashion. The Knights set two school records Saturday in Gainesville as Latasha Smith broke the 400-meter dash record and UCF's 4x4 squad set a new relay record.
"What a great total performance across the board," UCF head coach Dana Boone said. "There were a lot of personal bests and season bests over the past two days. We are doing the type of things that you want to see at this time of the year. I'm happy that this team keeps re-writing the record books. This is the type of momentum we need going in to the rest of the season."
Latasha Smith added her name to the record books twice on Saturday. Her personal best 52.01 broke Afia Charles' 400-meter record, set in 2013. Smith finished fifth overall and moved up to eighth on this season's NCAA outdoor list.
Smith joined Danielle Bess, Kiah Williams and Samieryah Bradwell for the final event of the weekend – the 4x400 relay. The squad dominated the second heat, setting the UCF record in the event in 3:31.88. The quartet finished third overall and moved into the top 10 on the NCAA outdoor performance list.
UCF also collected seven top 10 finishes on the final day of the meet.
Natalia Madison cleared a personal best 5-8.75/1.75m to win the high jump. Kaliah Jones matched her personal best of 5-7/1.70m to tie for second and join Madison on the podium.
Rayniah Jones advanced to the 100-meter hurdles final and ran a season-best 12.99 to finish sixth. Camryn Williams ran her first collegiate 3000-meter run, finishing sixth in 11:27.69. UCF's 4x1 relay ran a season best 43.92 to finish eighth. Kiara Lee advanced to the final in the triple jump and finished eighth with a mark of 41-7.25/12.68m.
UCF is back in action next weekend, splitting its squad between the Virginia Challenge and the LSU Alumni Gold.
UCF Results
High Jump
1. Natalia Madison 5-8.75/1.75m
T2. Kaliah Jones 5-7/1.70m
T11. Holly Cassels 5-3/1.60m
4x4
3. Danielle Bess/Latasha Smith/Kiah Williams/Samieryah Bradwell 3:31.88
400m
5. Latasha Smith 52.01
14. Kiah Williams 53.57
27. Kai'lyn Kirkland 55.41
35. Samieryah Bradwell 55.68
100H Final
6. Rayniah Jones 12.99
3000m
6. Camryn Williams 11:27.69
100m
7. Rayniah Jones 11.32
13. Ciara Holback 11.50
30. I'Asia Wilson 11.83
4x1 Relay
8. Ani Wells/Ciara Holback/Beyonce Defreitas/I'Asia Wilson 43.92
100H Preliminaries
7. Rayniah Jones 13.14q
21. Tamia Badal 13.87
23. Selena Wright 14.03
26. Alicia Coleman 14.32
Triple Jump
8. Kiara Lee 41-7.25/12.68m
10. Jasmine Scott-Kilgo 41-3.25/12.58m
13. Natalia Madison 40-6.75/12.36m
16. Asherah Collins 39-6/12.04m
800m
11. Charlotte Crook 2:07.73
22. Mariana Rodriguez 2:11.20
25. Cydni Turner 2:11.51
27. Katie Pinnell 2:12.28
Hammer Throw
16. Ashlyn Green 167-4/51.00m
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Gameday app right to your iOS or Android phone. The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news. Click here to download the app now.
