Meet: UCF Black & Gold Invitational
Location: Orlando, Fla. (UCF Track and Field Complex)
The short story: The Rams set three new personal bests and earned nine different top-10 placements as they began their outdoor season with a trip to the Sunshine State.
THROWS
- Sophomore Blanca Pereira earned a second-place finish in the hammer throw with a mark of 61.33 meters, surpassing her previous personal best of 58.65 meters. Her performance also beat her own record for the second-best throw in school history, trailing only her teammate, Gudrun Hallgrimsdottir
- Sophomore Madison Griffin placed fifth in the javelin throw with a mark of 42.98 meters, securing the top finish for a Ram in the event
- Eryn Byrd and Like Matalatala both secured top-ten finishes in the shot put, with Byrd placing fourth with a throw of 14.53 meters and Matalatala taking seventh with a distance of 13.58 meters
- Desi Akaolisa led three Rams in the top ten of the discus throw, earning eighth place with a mark of 44.69 meters, which shattered her previous best of 41.81 meters. Anaya Harris also surpassed her former record of 42.94 meters, recording a throw of 44.52 meters to finish ninth. Byrd rounded out the Rams' performances in the event with a tenth-place finish
HURDLES
- In her collegiate debut in the 400-meter hurdles, freshman June Hobaugh finished 17th with a time of 1:03.03, earning the best mark in the conference through the opening weekend of the outdoor season. Teammate Tori Lewis followed closely behind, crossing the line in 1:04.21
RELAYS
DISTANCE
- Nia Warren and Sabria Wooden both posted top-25 finishes in the 800-meter race, with Warren placing 20th and Wooden 25th in a field of over 50 competitors. Wooden set a new personal best with a time of 2:15.09, while Warren's 2:13.59 was just shy of her own personal record of 2:13.11
- Ava Miller added a top-five placement for the Rams in the 2000-meter Steeplechase as she crossed the tape in 7:14.51
SPRINTS
- Jaliyah Person recorded a time of 24.69 seconds in the 200-meter dash, earning the top mark in the A-10 to start the outdoor season
JUMPS
- Selkis Elong notched a top-15 performance in the long jump with a mark of 5.58 meters to kickstart her outdoor season
Next up
The Rams will head to N.C. State next week to compete in the Raleigh Relays, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, March 27-29.
