ORLANDO- The UCF track and field team is gearing up for its second meet of the outdoor season, remaining at home for the UCF Knights Invite.
Starting on Friday, March 27, the two-day event will feature upwards of 20 schools, bringing top competition to Orlando for a competitive weekend.
LAST TIME OUT
The Knights opened their outdoor campaign at the UCF Track and Field Complex for the Black and Gold Challenge, with a weekend highlighted by multiple personal records and top-10 program records. Kicking off, Friday, March 20, Paige Laffoon started the Knights off strong with a 10th-place finish and personal-best in the javelin, recording a throw of 32.90 meters (107’ 11”) on her first attempt. Shortly after, she pivoted to the long jump, capturing another personal record with a 5.87-meter jump on her third attempt of the first flight, qualifying for the final and finishing eighth. Jasmine Ross placed third in the second flight with a 6.03-meter jump, while Omaria Gordon followed closely with a fourth-place finish, also recording 6.03 meters.
Moving into track events, the 200m featured four personal bests and a pair of top-10 finishes. Freshman Samiyah Roberson captured a third-place finish in the fourth heat with a 23.16 time. Ese Awusa (23.70) and Aaliyah Gipson (23.78), each recorded personal bests, finishing 12th and 13th, respectively. In the 2000m freshman Daisy Ross placed sixth in her debut in the event with a time of 7:01.86. In the 1500m, a group of four athletes earned top-10 finishes, led by Ava Quattarocchi (4:36.37) and Paige Jaszczak (4:41.00), who finished 23rd and 26th while setting personal records.
Carrying momentum into Saturday, March 21, the Knights became the Nauts’ to celebrate 3.21 day. Soaring into the day, Lilou Lapeyrie made her outdoor debut with UCF, placing second in the high jump with an impressive 1.75 mark. Senior Angelina Horn dominated in the triple jump, surging to a personal-best (12.54m) to solidify a first-place finish and a tie for ninth all-time in program history.
On the track, Anotinette Galloway clocked a 13.56 in the prelims of the 100-meter hurdles to place fifth, followed by Eva Bruce, who recorded a personal best (13.77) to finish eighth. Both advanced to the finals, where Galloway placed third with a time of 13.21, marking the ninth-fastest time in program history. In the 4x100 relay, the squad of Datavia Hunter, Gipson, Roberson and Coco Branch finished third with a time of 44.42.