Track & Field Heads to East Coast Relays for Regular-Season FinaleTrack & Field Heads to East Coast Relays for Regular-Season Finale
Nicole Whitaker / UCF Athletics

Track & Field Heads to East Coast Relays for Regular-Season Finale

by Aiden Kocol

ORLANDO – After a week-long break, UCF track and field returns to action this weekend, traveling north to Jacksonville for its final regular-season meet, the East Coast Relays. Competition begins Friday, May 1, and continues through Saturday afternoon.

LAST TIME OUT
The Black and Gold is coming off a standout weekend at the Tom Jones Memorial, highlighted by personal-best heptathlon totals from Paige Laffoon (5,090) and Eva Bruce (5,366), both finishing top-10 while climbing the program record book. Bruce’s effort moved her to No. 2 all-time, while Laffoon now ranks seventh. On the track, Janiah Pulliam broke 23 seconds in the 200m (22.96) for No. 7 in program history, and Jazmen Newberry clocked 51.52 in the 400m to move into the top three all-time. The Knights capped the weekend in record-breaking fashion, as Newberry, Pulliam, Twaneise Johnson and Datavia Hunter combined to set a new 4x400m relay school record (3:30.33).

STARTING BLOCKS

  • The sprint squad is peaking at the right time, with two athletes now breaking the 23-second barrier in the 200m. Jazmen Newberry leads the group with a 22.81 mark, while Janiah Pulliam follows closely at 22.96. 
  • Additionally, the relay teams are making strides, most recently highlighted by a new program record from the 4x400m squad, who turned in a 3:30.33 last weekend to beat the previous program benchmark by more than a second. 
  • The distance squad continues its breakout season, led by Alexandra Raquet, who now owns top-three program times in both the 1500m and 5000m. In the middle distances, Raquel Edwards has been a standout, consistently lowering her 800m time, including a personal best of 2:09.47. 

EVENTS TO WATCH

  • Long Jump (Friday, PM) - Kicking off the meet is the field squad’s busiest event of the weekend with five Knights set to compete in the event. Freshman Jasmine Ross will headline the strong group, carrying in a season-best mark of 6.03m. 
  • 200m (Friday, 6:35 PM) - An action-packed event for the Black and Gold, eight Knights set to take the track, including Newberry, who will look to lower her 22.81 mark.
  • 100mH Prelims (Saturday, 12 PM) - Four Knights will hit the track for this event, looking to secure a spot in the finals at 3 PM. Among those competing is Ese Awusa, who had a strong showing at the East Coast Relays last year, clocking her PR of 13.18s. She’ll be joined by Toni Galloway, a UAlbany transfer who’s been an incredible addition to the Knights hurdle squad. She enters with a 13.05s PR.