No. 16 Track & Field Ready For Florida Relays

ORLANDO- After opening the outdoor season with back-to-back home meets, the UCF track and field team will travel to Gainesville for the Florida Relays. Knights will take the track Friday, April 3, at James G. Pressly Stadium, with the final events concluding Saturday, April 4.

For the first time since the 2024 season, the UCF track and field team is ranked in the USTFCCA’s opening outdoor poll, coming in at No. 16 as it continues competition in the Sunshine State. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Black and Gold remained at home for the second consecutive weekend, hosting the UCF Knights Invite, welcoming nearly 20 athletic programs. Competition began Friday, March 27, with field events, where four Knights secured top-10 finishes in the long jump. In flight two, Jasmine Ross recorded a 6.00-meter mark to place second, while Omaria Gordon followed closely with a fourth-place finish at 5.98 meters. 

On the track, the 200-meter final highlighted a strong showing for the squad, with multiple personal bests. Jazmen Newberry led the way, placing second with a time of 22.81 seconds, earning silver in the event, and moving up to a tie for fifth in program history. Twaneise Johnson and Antoinette Galloway also secured personal bests at 23.88 and 24.08 seconds, respectively. In the 5000 meters, all four competitors secured a top-10 finish, led by Ava Quattrocchi in second, Paige Jaszczak in third, Madison Patchan in fifth, and Masha Dorofeev finishing off for the squad in sixth. Closing out Friday's event with the 3000m steeplechase, Daisy Ross placed fourth (11:02.40) and fifth in all-time records, while Emily Wheldon secured seventh (11:38.75), ranking eighth in UCF history.

The Knights carried that momentum into Saturday, starting with Angelina Horn in the triple jump. She secured a second-place finish with a personal-best mark of 12.76 meters, improving her standing to sixth in program history. Newberry continued her standout weekend, winning the 400 meters in a personal-best (52.89s), good for fifth all-time at UCF. Janiah Pulliam followed closely with a second-place finish and a personal best of 52.90 seconds. Wrapping up the weekend, Galloway secured gold in 100-meter hurdles, posting a personal-best time of 13.05 seconds and moving up to sixth in program history. 

STARTING BLOCKS

• Triple Jumps: One of the busiest events of the weekend for UCF, featuring three Knights competing for the Black and Gold is Angelina Horn, Jade Johnson and Kaeli Powe. 
• Returning after momentum: Omaria Gordon returns after a fourth-place finish last weekend, joined by Paige Laffoon, who will compete in the event for just the second time this outdoor season as a Knight. 
• Returning to Gainesville: Aaliyah Gipson returns to the Florida Relays after helping UCF to a fifth-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay finals last year. She will be joined by a new group consisting of Datavia Hunter, Jazmen Newberry, Janiah Pulliam and Samiyah Roberson.
• Dash to The Finish: The 1500 will feature three Knights, Ava Quattrocchi and seniors Bailey McLain and Kendall Hughes. Hughes currently ranks ninth in program records with a time of 4:33.10.

EVENTS TO WATCH

• High Jump (Friday, 2:30 PM) - Eva Bruce and Lilou Lapeyrie open the weekend for UCF. Lapeyrie is coming off a second-place finish at the Black and Gold Challenge and will look to build on that performance. 
• 4x400 Prelim (Friday, 6:50 PM) - The quartet of Jazmen Newberry, Genelle Stephens,Twaneise Johnson and Janiah Pulliam will represent the Knights. Pulliam, Newberry, Johnson and Pulliam are part of a group that ranks fifth in program history, and the team welcomes Stephens for her first outdoor 4x400 appearance this season.
• 100m Hurdles (Saturday, 12:00 PM) - Antoinette Galloway is the single Knight showcasing the squad in this event. She left last weekend with gold, a first-place finish, personal-best and a spot in program records.