ORLANDO, Fla. - For the second consecutive season, UCF track and field will commence the indoor season with a trip to Louisville, Kentucky, to compete in the Rod McCravy Memorial Invitational.
Hosted by the Kentucky Wildcats, the two-day meet will feature some of the nation’s top programs embarking on the Norton Health Sports and Learning Center, a premier venue for indoor athletics. With a balanced lineup set to make the journey, the Knights will have athletes across multiple events.
UCF will begin Friday in the long jump at 12:30 p.m., its lone field competition of the day, before a busy afternoon on the track gets underway with the 60m prelims. Saturday consists of multiple semis and finals, along with the triple jump at 11 a.m.
STARTING BLOCKS
- Following three All-America honors combined at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships and trips to the United States Olympic Trials a month later, Asherah Collins and Kiah Williams will compete in their last season opener. With one final indoor campaign to close their stories careers in Black and Gold, the duo each have multiple events to qualify in.
- In 2024, Collins became the first Knight in program history to qualify for outdoor nationals in both the long and triple jump. Currently on the UCF all-time charts, she stands second in the long jump (6.21m) and the triple jump (13.15m), the only athlete to be among the top three in both.
- With back-to-back qualifications in the 400m, the first to do so in program history, Williams will look to secure a first-career bid to indoor nationals in either the 200m or the aforementioned 400m. She currently resides fourth in the 200m (23.33) and second in the 400m (52.97). In 2024, she became the first Knight to garner a Big 12 Athlete of the Week honor.
- HurdlesU will officially enter the post-Rayniah Jones era as the 10-time All-American concluded her collegiate career with a third-overall finish and program-record 12.59 performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last summer. After finishing third in the 60m hurdles at the Big 12 Indoor Championships a season ago, Adaobi Tabugbo will look to continue her former teammates' prowess as she begins her final collegiate campaign.
- There will be plenty of new faces suiting up this weekend, including eight freshmen and eight exciting transfers. Kylah Buckle (Tennessee), Twaneise Johnson (Kansas State) and Deja Shaw-Huckaby (North Texas/Oklahoma) will each bring the Power Four experience.