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Track and Field Concludes Regular season at Clemson and Vanderbilt

by Alex Clough

ORLANDO – A strong regular season for the UCF Track and Field team, its first as a member of the Big 12, will conclude this weekend as the squad splits up for the Tiger Paw Invite and the Music City Challenge.

The Knights will compete in their third dual-meet slate of indoor season, as the sprints and field squads will travel to Clemson, South Carolina, for competition at the Rock Norman Track and Field Complex. The distance group, who already made the trip to Clemson in January, will compete in Nashville, Tennessee, at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility.

TIGER PAW INVITE | CLEMSON, S.C. | HOSTS: CLEMSON | FEB. 9-10

The Rock Norman Indoor Track has been a consistent destination for both UCF and many other programs across the nation. This weekend, the Knights will look to put themselves in a great position as their inaugural Big 12 Indoor Championships lie just around the corner.

Rayniah Jones, who leads the conference in the 60m hurdles with an 8.01 performance in Lubbock, Texas at the Corky Classic, currently holds the sixth-best time in the nation entering her penultimate competition ahead of the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Moreover, the All-American holds four times this season that would lead the Big 12, while also securing a top-six time in the 60m dash thus far, running a 7.27 in the same meet.

A week ago, at the Crimson Elite in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I’Asia Wilson smashed her previous record with a 7.26 in the 60m dash, securing her first event win of her career. The performance currently ranks fifth in the conference in one of the league’s most highly anticipated events of the indoor championships.

Adaobi Tabugbo broke into the record books with an 8.20 in the finals of the 60m hurdles and the third-best time in the Big 12 this season. In the 400m, Kiah Williams, who garnered her first All-America honorable mention at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships, has consistently dropped her times, with her 53.32 this past weekend propelling her to fifth in the conference.

In the triple jump, Asherah Collins has been pushing the needle in each meet, securing a first-place finish in the event in Boston. Her 13.14m mark lands fourth in the Big 12 thus far as she continues to push for a personal record and the program's best.

The long jump and 60m hurdles prelims will commence action on Friday at noon, while the finals of the latter (5:45 p.m.) and the 60m dash (6:05) will conclude the action. On Saturday, the 200m dash (12:40 a.m.) and triple jump (3 p.m.) will wrap up action from Clemson.

MUSIC CITY CHALLENGE | NASHVILLE, TENN. | HOSTS: VANDERBILT | FE. 9-10

After a weekend off, the distance squad will return to action as they make the trip north to Nashville. Earlier this season, Y’Vette Harris secured the pentathlon freshman record while Natalia Madison climbed closer to the program record in the event with a new personal best.

Multiple freshmen have broken into the all-time lists throughout the indoor season thus far, headlined by three new inclusions on the 800m charts. Abigail Stratton shined at the Bob Pollock Invitational, running a career-best 2:10.88, followed by Hannah Taylor’s 2:11.41 and Karin Dobiasch’s 2:11.47. Each sit from seventh to 10th, while fifth-year Charlotte Crook continues to show her prowess in her final collegiate campaign.

The English native broke her program record in the 1000m, running a 2:52.16 to go along with multiple top-five finishes. She sits 11th in the event in the Big 12 and will look to continue her good form before the Big 12 Indoor Championships.

Friday’s slate will begin with the mile at 4:30 p.m. before three sections of the 5000m starting at 8:10 p.m. On Saturday, the action will span from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Knights tabbed for multiple events to conclude the regular season.