ORLANDO – The list of participants for the 2022 NCAA East Preliminary Track and Field Championships was announced on Thursday. UCF qualified 14 members of its team, plus both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay squads, for the preliminary round May 26-28 in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Knights are represented in 12 different events at the preliminary round, with a pair of Knights – Selena Wright and Jasmine Scott-Kilgo – competing in two events.
Brittany Floyd earned an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship site as she ranks 22nd in the heptathlon. The top 24 decathlon and heptathlon scores in the nation automatically advance to Eugene.
Two Knights qualified in the 100-meter hurdles. Two-time American Athletic Conference champion and First Team All-American Rayniah Jones enters the preliminary round ranked fourth in the event with a season-best 12.79. Selena Wright has qualified in both hurdles events, ranking 13th in the 100H with a 13.15. Wright, the American Athletic Conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles, enters the meet ranked 13th with a personal best 57.64.
UCF has three competitors in the 400-meter dash, led by the American Athletic Conference champion Latasha Smith. Her school record 52.01 ranks 11th on the East Region list. Kiah Williams, who collected the silver medal at the conference meet, ranks 30th with a 53.20 and Danielle Bess ranks 33rd with a 53.32.
Three Knights also qualified in the triple jump. Asherah Collins, who punched her ticket to Eugene with a freshman record mark, returns to the East preliminary round ranked 19th with a mark of 13.05m. Kiara Lee ranks 42nd with 12.68m and Jasmine Scott-Kilgo ranks 45th with a 12.64m.
Scott-Kilgo is also one of two Knights in the long jump, ranking 28th with a 6.18m. Brittany Floyd also qualified with a 6.13m.
Ciara Holback qualified in the 100-meter dash for the second time in her collegiate career and the first since 2019. She enters the meet ranked 27th with an 11.40. Beyonce Defreitas qualified with a personal best 23.20 in the 200-meter dash, which ranks 23rd.
Charlotte Crook has qualified in the 1500-meter run for the second straight year. Her school record 4:20.11 ranks 44th in the prelims.
Natalia Madison is the first Knight to qualify for the East Preliminary Round in the high jump since 2018. Her 1.75m ranks 47th. Adrienne Adams makes her East Preliminary Round debut as her school record 53.69m ranks 22nd in the discus.
For the first time since 2017, UCF has qualified both relays for the East Preliminary Round. The Knights enter the meet ranked eighth with a school record 3:31.88 in the 4x4 relay. UCF's 43.84 ranks ninth in the 4x1.
More information, including 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 8-11 in Eugene, Ore.
UCF Participant Schedule
Thursday, May 26
6 p.m. – Long Jump (Jasmine Scott-Kilgo, Brittany Floyd)
6 p.m. – 100H First Round (Rayniah Jones, Selena Wright)
6:30 p.m. – 1500m First Round (Charlotte Crook)
7 p.m. – 100m First Round (Ciara Holback)
7:25 p.m. – 400m First Round (Latasha Smith, Kiah Williams, Danielle Bess)
8:20 p.m. – 400H First Round (Selena Wright)
8:45 p.m. – 200m First Round (Beyonce Defreitas)
Saturday, May 28
1 p.m. – Discus (Adrienne Adams)
2:30 p.m. – High Jump (Natalia Madison)
5 p.m. – 4x1 Relay Quarterfinal
5:15 p.m. – 1500m Quarterfinal
6 p.m. – Triple Jump (Asherah Collins, Kiara Lee, Jasmine Scott-Kilgo)
6:15 p.m. – 100H Quarterfinal
6:35 p.m. – 100m Quarterfinal
6:50 p.m. – 400m Quarterfinal
7:25 p.m. – 400H Quarterfinal
7:50 p.m. – 200m Quarterfinal
8:45 p.m. – 4x4 Quarterfinal
