ORLANDO, Fla. – With a historic regular season behind them, the UCF Track & Field squad checked in at No. 20 in the latest USTFCCCA National Ratings Index. For the first time in program history, the Knights have been ranked in the top-25 in every poll thus far, as the team now shifts focus to setting even more history at the AAC Conference Championships in Tampa Fla., next week.
In Jacksonville this past weekend, the Knights closed out the regular season campaign with a strong performance at the East Coast Relays. Rayniah Jones shined as she set two new personal bests in the 100-meter hurdles and 100-meter dash. Her time of 12.63 is the new all-conditional program record, besting her previous best of 11.64 set at the Olympic Trials in 2021. She also ran the program's fourth fastest time in the 100-meter dash with her 11.17 performance. The reigning 100-meter hurdles champions now enter the postseason with the conference's best time in the event.
Up next for the Knights is a trip to the University of South Florida for the 2023 American Athletic Conference Championships. Following yet another commanding title at the Indoor Championships in February, UCF will look to leave the AAC with back-to-back sweeps ahead of its transition into the Big 12.
Knights in the Top 10
Rayniah Jones / 100-meter hurdles (12.75)
Latasha Smith / 400-meter dash (51.47)
Daija Lampkin, Rayniah Jones, Beyonce Defreitas, I'Asia Wilson / 4x100 relay (5th)
Kaylor Harris, Natalia Madison, Alicia Coleman, Rayniah Jones / Shuttle Hurdle Relay (1st)