Knights 4x400m Relay Squad Claims Gold to Conclude Big 12 Indoor ChampionshipsKnights 4x400m Relay Squad Claims Gold to Conclude Big 12 Indoor Championships

Knights 4x400m Relay Squad Claims Gold to Conclude Big 12 Indoor Championships

by Alex Clough
UCF Schedule (PDF) Opens in a new window Results Opens in a new window

LUBBOCK, Texas - In front of a ruckus Sports Performance Center at Texas Tech Saturday afternoon, a quartet of Knights secured history for the UCF track and field program, bringing the 4x400m relay title back to Orlando.

The first for UCF on the short track, the pressure for the Big 12 leaders entering the conference championships’ final event was never an issue, as head coach Dana Boone and her group dominated the fourth and final heat.

 

Wow, what a season this has been. These young ladies stood up and fought with everything we had this weekend. Kiah Williams had a phenomenal weekend, she put this team on her back. I’m so glad she wanted to come back for her last indoor. The goal was to improve our standing from a year ago and we did, I’m very proud of the performances this weekend. We will now gear up for NCAA’s.

Head coach Dana Boone

A 10-point swing propelled the Knights into a tie for 11th with 38 and, more importantly, a massive 17-point increase from the program’s inaugural Big 12 Indoor Championships a season ago. 

The Nigerian tandem of Adaobi Tabugbo and Ese Awusa set the tone, garnering 10 points for the Knights in a strong 60m hurdles display. After leading the field in Friday’s semis with a personal-best 8.02, Tabugbo dropped her time below eight seconds for the first time in her career, clocking a 7.99 in lane five.

While the performance didn’t result in a title, as Texas Tech’s Naomi Krebs (7.96) claimed the top spot, her second-place finish was an improvement on her 2024 outing, as she continues her climb up the Nigerian all-time ranks.

Awusa added two points to the effort as the senior placed seventh with an 8.35, her first podium finish, marking the first at a Big 12 championship for her.

60m Hurdles Final Results

2. Adaobi Tabugbo: 7.99 (Eight Points)

7. Ese Awusa: 8.35 (Two Points)

It would be another duo to grace the podium together in the 400m, almost in similar circumstances. Kiah Williams, competing in her first of three finals, placed second with another sub-52 second performance, running a 51.62 in heat two.

Her fellow 4x400m relay partner, Kansas State transfer Twaneise Johnson, added three points to the haul with a sixth-place finish and an impressive 53.27. Across the 400m and 60m hurdles, the squad tallied 21 points, a massive swing to push the Black and Gold upward in the team standings.

400m Final Results

2. Kiah Williams: 51.62 (Eight Points)

6. Twaneise Johnson: 53.27 (Three Points)

While the first of five track events ensued, four Knights embarked on the triple jump, the final field event for UCF this weekend. A tough field prevented the squad from advancing to the finals, as Asherah Collins led the way in 10th, following her 12.74m mark. 

Sophomore Alexis Waller put closure on her breakout indoor campaign with an impressive 13th-place finish and personal-best 12.32m jump. Louisiana-Monroe transfer Angelina Horn also set a career record, with the German going 12.20m in her first attempt to place 16th. Natalia Madison, who had already put five points on the board for UCF yesterday afternoon in the pentathlon, placed 19th with an 11.99m mark. 

Williams’ second final of the day saw the Miami native finish eighth in the 200m with an impressive 23.81 in the second heat, adding one more point to her overall performance. 

The most anticipated event of the weekend for the Black and Gold marked the finale for what had been an already strong weekend. The same crew that set the program record twice this season, last at the Tyson Invitational two weeks ago, lined up against Baylor, TCU and Arizona in a stacked final heat.

Johnson clocked a 54-second first leg before handing the baton off to Jazmen Newberry, making her first appearance of the day. The UAlbany transfer clocked a strong 52.87, though as she met Williams at the line, the Knights sat alongside the Bears in second. With two events and nine points to her name already, the senior ran down the field in the third leg with her time of 52.26, providing Deja Shaw-Huckaby with a cushion as she set forth on the anchor.

The third and final transfer from the group left no room for error, disposing of any chasedowns on the approach with a 53.84. An overall time of 3:32.95 bested second-place Baylor by 46th of a second. 

As they stepped up to the highest platform inside the facility, donning pristine medals and repping the Knighthead on their shirts, the moment served as a foundation for the program as it moved forward in a new chapter in the Big 12.

UP NEXT

Multiple Knights will await the final participants list on Tuesday, March 4, to see if they’ll be making the trip to the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships. The two-day long meet will be held in Virginia Beach at the Sports Center from March 14-15.