ORLANDO - Improving its placement by three spots at the 2025 Big 12 Indoor Championships, the UCF track and field team will conclude the first half of their campaign on the big state, as five Knights have officially secured qualifications to the NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
A group that propelled the squad to a 38-point tally, up 17 from the year prior, will each be among the athletes in the nation in their respective events.
2025 NCAA Indoor Championships Qualifiers
- Kiah Williams - 400m, 4x400m Relay
- Adaobi Tabugbo - 60m Hurdles
- Deja Shaw-Huckaby - 4x400m Relay
- Jazmen Newberry - 4x400m Relay
- Twaneise Johnson - 4x400m Relay
The group marks the most to qualify for NCAA indoor championships under head coach Dana Boone, while the three events match the 2022 slate.
After becoming the first athlete in program history to qualify for the outdoor championships in the 400m, Williams now becomes the second on the short track, as her program-best 51.59 ranks 11th in the nation.
Needing Tabugbo to step up in the post-Rayniah Jones era, the Nigerian native has lived up to the expectations thus far, securing her first ticket to the indoor championships in her career. The senior ran her first sub-eight-second performance to place second at the Big 12 Indoor Championships (7.99). She ranks eighth in the NCAA, becoming the fifth Knight to qualify indoors in the 60m hurdles.
The 4x400m relay squad has had the most prolific indoor season in program history, having broken the program record twice, along with a dominating performance in Lubbock to win the program’s first Big 12 indoor title. With today’s release, the group has also become the second for UCF to qualify to the NCAA indoor championships in the event.
Action will commence from the Virginia Beach Sports Center on Friday, March 14, with a pair of preliminaries in the 400m and 60m hurdles, as the relay will take place on Saturday at 4:20 p.m.