Senior Jackie Coward advanced to Saturday’s finals in the 100 hurdles by besting her own school record by .06 with a qualifying time of 12.81 (+1.7). The blistering performance was the third-quickest of her heat and the fourth-fastest time overall as she heads into the finals looking to medal once again in the event.

Freshman Octavious Freeman advanced to Saturday’s finals of the 200 meters by topping her own school record, freshman record and personal record in the event with a time of 22.74 (+1.9). Her performance was the fastest by a freshman on Thursday, the third-fastest time in her heat and the seventh-fastest overall.

Sophomore Aurieyall Scott secured All-American Second Team distinction with her all-conditions personal-best time of 22.76 (+2.2). Although Scott finished among the semifinals’ top eight spots, Texas A&M’s Ashley Collier’s automatic qualifying time of 23.01 as the second-fastest performance of the third heat edged Scott for a place in the finals.

Senior Sheila Paul also took All-America honorable mention recognition in the 200m with a time of 23.65 (+1.9) for 21st overall.

Senior Jacquelyn Gilchrist wrapped up her career by becoming the 13th athlete in school history to earn All-American honors. Gilchrist claimed second team laurels after her personal-best outing in the long jump with a mark of 6.25m/20-6.25 (+1.7) for 13th place. It capped a memorable season for the senior, who improved her personal record on four occasions throughout the year.

Junior Sonnisha Williams also earned the third All-American honor of her career with a spot on the second team thanks to her 14th-place performance in the long jump with a leap of 6.19m/20-3.75 (+1.5).

Freeman and Scott will be Â鶹ԭ´´’s only competitors Friday when they look to make some noise in the 100-meter finals at 7:02 p.m. eastern. The event will be streamed live online and is available for free on ESPN3.com. In addition, ESPNU will televise Saturday’s action from noon until 2 p.m. ET.

For the past 20 weeks, the No. 13 Â鶹ԭ´´ track and field team has trained, sweated, breathed and dreamed of this moment.

The moment is here.

The Knights will be represented by six student-athletes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships this week at Drake in Des Moines, Iowa. The team will look to improve upon its eighth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, which marked the best finish in school history.

Â鶹ԭ´´ will compete in four different events as the group aims to add more All-American accolades to their resumes. Prior to head coach  arrival five years ago, the Knights had never produced an All-American. The program now boasts 12 athletes with 28 All-American distinctions.

Jumpers and  will start things off Wednesday in the long jump. Â鶹ԭ´´ is one of six schools to earn multiple entries in the event. Williams finished ninth in the long jump at the indoor championships and was a national qualifier in the outdoor championships as a freshman in 2010. Gilchrist is making the most of her senior year as a first-time qualifier after registering a personal-best performance at the NCAA East Preliminaries on May 24.

The Knights’ nation-best three entries in the 100 meters will also compete Wednesday as , and  all look to finish among the top eight to advance to Friday’s finals. Scott and Freeman both medaled in the 60 meters at the indoor championships and boast performances that rank among the NCAA’s top 10 this year. Paul qualified for her third-straight appearance at the outdoor championships in the 100 meters.

The trio will also represent Â鶹ԭ´´ in the 200 meters Thursday, and the Knights again own the most entries in the event of any program in the country.

Senior  will compete Thursday as well in the semifinals of the 100 hurdles. She finished fifth at this year’s indoor championships in the 60 hurdles and took bronze at last year’s outdoor championships.

The entire event will be streamed live online and is available for free on NCAA.com (Wednesday) and ESPN3.com (Thursday-Saturday). In addition, ESPNU will televise Saturday’s action from noon until 2 p.m. ET.

Â鶹ԭ´´ at the NCAA Championships

Wednesday, June 6

Long Jump Finals — 5:30 p.m.
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100 Meters Semifinals – 7:30 p.m.
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Thursday, June 7

200 Meters Semifinals – 5:45 p.m.
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100 Hurdles Semifinals – 7:10 p.m.
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Friday, June 8

100 Meters Finals – 7:02 p.m.

Saturday, June 9

200 Meters Finals – 1:47 p.m.

100 Hurdles Finals – 2:14 p.m.

Senior Jackie Coward clinched her spot at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100 hurdles for the third-consecutive year by winning her heat and clocking the second-fastest qualifying time overall of 12.96 (+1.3). The performance ranks as her best wind-legal time of the year and ranks among the top 10 in the NCAA.

Senior Karessa Farley narrowly missed the cut to advance to the 100-hurdles semifinals by .004. While also running in heat two, Farley’s time of 13.395 was edged by Louisiana Tech’s Kim Francis, who crossed the finish line at 13.391 to secure the 12th and final spot in the field.

A day after qualifying for the semifinals of the 100 meters, Aurieyall Scott, Sheila Paul and Octavious Freeman also qualified to advance in the 200 meters. Scott pulled away in the final heat to secure her berth with a season-best time of 22.90 as the Knights’ top finisher with the fourth-fastest time of the day and a top-20 time in the NCAA. Freeman came in third in her heat and seventh overall with a time of 23.08 to also automatically qualify for the championships. Paul rounded out the trio with a personal-best 23.25 to finish fourth in the first heat and 10th overall.

Senior Tomika Story finished her career on a high note with a personal-best performance in the triple jump. She fouled on her first two attempts but refused to be rattled. On her third jump, she hit 12.54m/41-1.75 (+1.8) to emerge as Â鶹ԭ´´’s highest finisher in the event at 21st place.

Senior Jacquelyn Gilchrist, who qualified for the NCAA Championships in the long jump, posted her second-best triple jump performance of the season with a mark of 12.44m/40-9.75 (+1.8) for 28th place.

Although the 4×100 relay posted the third-fastest qualifying time of the day, Â鶹ԭ´´ was disqualified from the event when Freeman and Scott failed to hand off the baton within the zone. After the pair struggled with their handoff between the second and third leg, anchor Sheila Paul recovered for the squad as she nearly caught up with leader Ohio State. The Knights finished second in their heat by .05 with a time of 44.03 but unfortunately will not advance to the national semifinals in Des Moines.

Throughout the three-day meet, the team produced six marks that either ranked first or second overall in each round of its respective events.

Â鶹ԭ´´ will send a total of six athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, June 6-9. The Knights look to improve upon their eighth-place finish at the Indoor Championships, which marked the program’s top placing in school history.

The Knights claim 12 marks that rank among the region’s top 25. Freshman Octavious Freeman, sophomore Aurieyall Scott and senior Sheila Paul hold six of Â鶹ԭ´´’s region-best seven entries in the 100 and 200 meters and will be joined by sophomore Dominique Booker in the 200.

Freeman won gold in the 100 meters and bronze in the 200 meters at the Conference USA Championships as she heads into the preliminaries with the third-best time in both events. Scott also ranks among the region’s top 10 in both events after emerging as league champion in the 200 and runner-up in the 100. Paul took silver in the 200 to help Â鶹ԭ´´ earn a clean sweep of the podium in the event at the championships.

Sophomore Afia Charles earned her spot for the second-consecutive year in the 400 meters. Freshman Ne’Ausha Logan secured her first appearance at the preliminaries with her personal-best and gold-medalist performance in the 800 meters at the Conference USA Championships.

All-conference selections Jackie Coward and Karessa Farley will represent the Black and Gold in the 100 hurdles while Aisha-Maree Frazier returns to the preliminaries in the 400 hurdles after missing last year’s competition. All three hurdlers earned all-conference distinction a week ago.

Junior Sonnisha Williams will lead Â鶹ԭ´´’s four entries in the long jump as she currently ranks third in the region in the event. She will be accompanied by all-conference honoree Jacquelyn Gilchrist, Tomika Story and Jen Clayton. Gilchrist and Story will also perform in the triple jump.

Freshman Precious Ogunleye becomes Â鶹ԭ´´’s first freshman since 2007 to represent the Knights in the throws by earning her spot in both the shot put and discus.

The top 24 finishers in each event will move on to the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 6-9. For more information about the East Preliminaries, visit the meet central page via www.unfospreys.com.

The Knights claimed the title with 160 team points, besting C-USA Indoor Champion East Carolina by nearly 28 points.

Octavious Freeman was named the Freshman of the Meet, Aurieyall Scott won the High Point Scorer of the Meet for the second year in a row and head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert was awarded her third-consecutive Coach of the Year accolade.

Freeman set a meet record, school record, freshman record and personal best in the 100 meters with a blistering performance of 11.09 (+1.5) for first place. The time ranks second in the NCAA and 11th in the world this year. Scott finished in step behind her and also tied the previous meet record of 11.21 (+1.5), which ranks among the top 10 in the NCAA.

Senior Sheila Paul and sophomore Dominique Booker scored points in the 100 meters as well with fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively. Paul registered a season-best time of 11.40, which ranks among the NCAA’s top 25, and Booker clocked 11.59.

As a unit in the 4×100 relay, the group clinched Â鶹ԭ´´’s first gold medal of the day by churning out a time of 43.47, which fell just .05 shy of the squad’s Conference USA Championship meet record in 2011. The performance ranks among the top 15 in the NCAA this year.

The quartet also shined in the 200 meters as the Knights swept the podium. Scott reclaimed her gold medal in the event with a time of 23.13 (+0.8), which ranks among the top 15 in the NCAA. Paul and Freeman went neck and neck for silver and bronze as both clocked a time of 23.53. Rounding out the bunch, Booker scored points in seventh place with a time of 23.98.

Senior Tomika Story earned all-conference third team honors in the triple jump with a personal-best leap in all conditions of 12.74m/41-09.75 (+2.6). Competing in the event for the first time of her collegiate career, Scott also scored points in eighth place with a mark of 12.25m/40-02.25 (+2.0), which topped her heat.

Junior Sonnisha Williams recorded a personal-best 11.92m/39-01.25 (+1.7) to finish second in her heat behind Scott and 12th overall. Williams also hit a personal-record 1.73m/5-08 in the high jump to match her best showing in the event at the Outdoor Championships in fifth place.

A day removed from setting a personal best in the 800 meters, Ne’Ausha Logan led the finals from start to finish and again shaved nearly two seconds off her PR for the first gold medal of her career with a time of 2:07.25.

Two seniors medaled and recorded times among the NCAA’s top 25 in the 100 hurdles. Jackie Coward retained her title as the 100 hurdles champion by picking up her third gold medal of her career in the event with a time of 13.10 (+1.1), and Karessa Farley posted a season-best time of 13.34 (+1.1) for third place.

Coward also defended her gold medal in the 400 hurdles with a season-best time of 58.35, and fellow senior Aisha-Maree Frazier joined her on the podium with a third-place, season-best time of 59.46.

Satrina Oliveira set a personal best en route to winning her heat and finishing fourth in the discus with a mark of 46.80m/153-06. A day after earning all-conference honors in the shot put, Precious Ogunleye also scored points in the discus with a sixth-place finish of 45.10m/147-11.

Junior Erica Weiss tallied a point in the pole vault with a mark of 3.60m/11-09.75 for eighth place.

The 4×400 relay of Afia Charles, Christal Peterson, Erica Winston and Williams closed out the evening with a season-best time of 3:38.69 for fourth place. Earlier in the day, Charles scored points in the 400 meters with a fifth-place time of 54.03.

Complete coverage of the final day of competition will air on tape delay on Fox Sports Florida on Friday at 2 p.m. and on SportSouth on Sunday at 8 p.m. Up next, the Knights will travel to Jacksonville for the NCAA East Preliminary Round of the Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 24-26.

Champion Event(s)

Team Points

1. Â鶹ԭ´´ 160
2. East Carolina 132.16
3. Southern Miss 81
4. Houston 74
5. Rice 60.50
6. SMU 60
7. UAB 58
8. Memphis 55
9. UTEP 54
10. Tulane 33.33
11. Marshall 28
12. Tulsa 23

Williams impressed in the high jump by tying for second place with a personal-best leap of 1.70m/5-07.

The throwers represented the Black and Gold well as freshman  earned her best finish of the season thus far in the Hammer with a third-place toss of 48.09m/157-09. She went on to record personal bests and fourth-place finishes in both the Shot Put and Discus. She nearly topped the Â鶹ԭ´´ freshman shot put record with a mark of 14.12m/46-04.00 and bested her personal record in the discus by nearly 13 feet with a toss of 47.75m/156-08.

Not to be outdone by her teammate, sophomore  recorded a personal best in the Shot with a throw of 13.92m/45-08.00 for fifth place and recorded her best discus mark of the season (35.90m/117-09).

Seniors and  held their own in the long jump as the top two collegiate finishers in the event behind France’s Eloyse Lesueur and Great Britain’s Jade Johnson. Gilchrist posted a wind-aided 6.16m/20-02.50 (+3.0) with Story right behind her in fourth place with a mark of 6.07m/19-11.00 (+2.9), which is a personal best in all conditions.

Freshman  jumped out to a great start in the 3000 Steeple and never lost her momentum to claim the first win of her collegiate career with a personal-best time of 11:48.06.

In her first appearance in the 3000 Meters this season,  ran a personal-record 11:02.14.

The No. 12 Â鶹ԭ´´ track and field team will split between the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., and the Memphis Invitational in Memphis, Tenn., on April 27-28.

“Today was a good starting point for the season and we’re going to build off of this meet,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert said.

Â鶹ԭ´´ shined in the 100 Meters by recording the top-three finishes with times that all rank among the top 10 in the nation at time of publication. Sophomore Dominique Booker led the way with a time of 11.74 (0.9), followed by Amanda Leland’s personal-best 11.76 (1.8) and Sheila Paul rounded out the trio with a time of 11.81 (0.9).

The Knights also clinched three of the top five spots in the 200 Meters with marks that rank among the nation’s top 10. Sheila Paul emerged as Â鶹ԭ´´’s best finisher of eight competitors with a second-place time of 23.75 (-0.3). Junior Sonnisha Williams fell in step behind her at 23.89 (-0.3) while Booker also finished among the top five with a time of 24.12 (-0.3).

Leland recorded a personal best 24.74 (-0.1) in the race for 10th place and Jen Clayton won her heat with a time of 24.76 for 11th place.

Sophomore Afia Charles came up with a first-place time of 53.73 which currently leads the country in the 400 Meters.

Â鶹ԭ´´’s jumps crew represented the Knights well by taking gold in both the triple jump and long jump. Jacquelyn Gilchrist bested her personal record in the long jump with a leap of 6.17m/20-03 (0.8), which ranks second in the country, to defend her first-place finish from last year’s meet.

Tomika Story took first place in the triple jump with a wind-aided mark of 12.40m/40-08.25 (2.5). Gilchrist claimed second place in the event with a jump of 12.27m/40-03.25 (+0.0) to rank second in the country.

After clearing the bar and hitting the cushion on landing, Erica Weiss sprang up with a smile on her face and clapped her hands to celebrate her new personal best in the pole vault with a mark of 3.77m/12-04.50. The junior bested her competitor by more than two feet to rank among the top 15 in the country.

Sophomore Destinee Romain earned two third-place finishes on the day in the hammer and the shot put. She topped her personal best in the hammer by nearly 40 feet, recording 48.74/159-11 before posting 12.85m/42-02 in the shot.

In her first collegiate hammer throw appearance, Precious Ogunleye posted a mark of 45.47m/149-02 to fall less than a foot shy of the Â鶹ԭ´´ freshman record. Ogunleye also finished third in the discus with a toss of 42.40m/139-1.

Â鶹ԭ´´’s distance crew saw a number of personal-best performances. Freshman Cody Castillo had a memorable debut in her first collegiate outdoor meet with two personal-best outings. Castillo earned fourth place to pace five Knights in the 1500 Meters with a time of 4:44.60. She followed that up with a personal record 2:20.28 in the 800 Meters for 10th place.

Jessica Pachay ran a personal best 19:27.08 for fourth place in the 5000 Meters. Erica Winston took fourth place in the 800 Meters with a time of 2:13.84 to qualify as Â鶹ԭ´´’s best finisher in the race.

Â鶹ԭ´´’s 4×100 Relay team of Christal Peterson, Tyler Smith, Clayton and Leland combined to run a fourth-place time of 44.84, which at the time of publication ranked sixth in the nation.

Â鶹ԭ´´ closed out the day with the top 4×400 Relay performance as Charles, sophomore Aurieyall Scott, freshman Christal Peterson and sophomore Erica Winston combined to clock 3:42.78, which ranks third in the nation.

Up next, the Knights will host the Â鶹ԭ´´ Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Saturday will also serve as Senior Day to recognize the Knights’ outstanding Class of 2012.

Â鶹ԭ´´ swept the podium in the 200 meters with sophomore Aurieyall Scott leading the way in first place with a time of 23.56 – the nation’s fastest performance at the time of publication. Sheila Paul clocked in at 23.95, which ranks seventh in the nation, for second place.

Freshman Octavious Freeman ran the eighth fastest time in the country at 24.01 for third place and a personal record. Freshman Christal Peterson clocked a personal record 24.49 in the event, which ranks among the top 25 performances in the country, and Amanda Leland set a personal best as well with a time of 25.22.

Freshman Precious Ogunleye broke her second school freshman record in as many days, surpassing the five-year-old shot put mark with a fourth place showing of 13.88m (45-06.50).

Two Knights also medaled in the 800 meters as Erica Winston claimed first place with a time of 2:15.80 while Ne’Ausha Logan followed at third place with a time of 2:18.46.

“The 200 runners did a great job of running their race patterns for their first race of the year,” Â鶹ԭ´´ head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert said. “Precious again broke a freshman school record, so that was very, very exciting. The 800 runners are running close to as fast as they ran all of indoor last season, so I can’t complain about the weekend overall but we still have quite a bit of work to do, and we have to eliminate the mental barriers we face before we get to Birmingham next weekend.”

Sophomore Jen Clayton clinched second place in the long jump with a leap of 6.05m (19-10.25), which currently ranks 15th in the nation.

Junior Sonnisha Williams recorded 6.01m (19-08.75) with a fourth place finish and also medaled in the high jump, clearing 1.65m (5-05) to tie third place.

“Coach (Paul) Brown has the long jumpers looking quite solid,” Smith Gilbert said. “They have to get more consistent on the runway.”

Â鶹ԭ´´’s 4×400 relay team got off to a good start but were unable to finish after second leg Scott was tripped up in the first 50 meters.

Meanwhile at the University of Florida in Gainesville, eight student-athletes represented the Knights at the Jimmy Carnes Invitational. Freshman Teresa Huff earned the Knights’ best finish at the meet by clocking 18:44.76 in the 5,000 meters for fifth place.

Junior Eva Pierce was Â鶹ԭ´´’s sole runner in the 400 Meters and finished with a time of 1:01.32. Freshman Ali Brandehoff recorded Â鶹ԭ´´’s top finish in the 800 meters with a time of 2:23.48 for seventh place, and freshman Cody Castillo paced the Knights in the mile with a time of 5:27.26.

Up next, Â鶹ԭ´´ will travel to the Auburn Invitational in Birmingham, Ala., on Saturday and will also split time at the Gator Invite in Gainesville on Sunday.

“All season we talked about teamwork and making sacrifices so mentally we were solid. It has been a season packed full of ups and downs, good days and bad days but in the end, our consistent hard work landed us among the top 20 programs in the U.S. and I am very proud of the Black and Gold,” Smith Gilbert added.

Running out of Lane 1, Coward got out of the blocks quickly, effortlessly clearing every hurdle. After clearing the final hurdle, Coward put on one last kick to the finish, slightly stumbling across the line third in 12.78. That time would easily be a new program record were it not for the wind readings of +2.1, just barely nullifying the time as the new Â鶹ԭ´´ standard.Coward already owns the current record of 12.96, set earlier this season.

Last year, Coward placed fifth in the finals of this event in 13.04. Improving on that time and finish in 2011, Coward becomes the program’s first two-time outdoor First Team All-American.

The Knights’ 4×100-meter relay team began the afternoon with a fourth-place finish in the national final to earn five points towards the team total. Coward began the race, replacing the injured Dominique Booker in the first leg. She handed off to fellow two-time All-American Aurieyall Scott in the second leg. Lynne Layne made up ground on eventual champion LSU and second-place Texas A&M in the third 100-meter stretch.

Junior Sheila Paul, a Second Team All-American in the 100 meters, took the baton for the final leg. The Knights’ fourth runner was able to put some distance between herself and the fourth runner from Texas as she pulled away down the stretch. Paul crossed the line in 43.67, putting Â鶹ԭ´´ ahead of teams from Texas, Florida State and Clemson. Conference USA foe Houston did not finish the final heat and failed to earn any team points. USC finished third, narrowly edging the Black and Gold.

It marks the first time in program history that any Knights’ relay team earned All-American honors. In all, Â鶹ԭ´´ claimed All-American recognition in five events this weekend as Coward (100mH), Paul (100m) and the 4×100 all claimed one, while Scott (100m and 200m) finished with two.

The 17th-place finish is the highest ever for the Knights and a 29-spot improvement on last season’s 46th-place finish.

The Knights now hold both the C-USA indoor and outdoor titles after having won indoors in February. For the second straight outdoor season and the third time in the last 12 months, Caryl Smith Gilbert was named the C-USA Coach of the Year for leading her team to a third league crown.

Jackie Coward was named the Performer of the Meet with two individual titles in the 100-and 400-meter hurdles. Freshman Aurieyall Scott was also honored with two individual awards as she was named the High Point Scorer and Freshman of the Meet. Scott was also the 2011 C-USA Indoor Track & Field Championship Freshman of the Meet in Houston earlier this year.

“This is the best championship we have won because we came together as a team and we fought for it,” Smith Gilbert said. “This is the first time that truly did that to win. Everybody was able to contribute. “I am very proud of the whole team, because we earned points in places that we didn’t expect. That is a testament to how these young women performed this weekend. Coach Chakouian and coach Brown did phenomenal jobs in preparing their athletes for this meet.”

Entering the day, the Knights sat 10th in the standings with just 14 points. SMU, which had 60 points entering Sunday, built their lead to an even greater figure, scoring in events in which there were no Â鶹ԭ´´ athletes participating. That quickly changed once the Knights began to take to the track in the early evening.

The Knights’ 4×100-meter relay team earned 10 important points with an exciting first-place finish in the day’s first race. Â鶹ԭ´´’s Dominique Booker, Scott, Lynne Layne and Sheila Paul set a new C-USA Championship record as well as a new program mark to edge out Houston for the title in 43.42. The Cougars and Knights were neck-and-neck through the first two legs before Layne and Paul put some distance between the Black and Gold and second-place Houston to set the new record.

Â鶹ԭ´´ solidified its championship with another first-place finish in the final event of the day: the 4×400-meter relay. Champelle Brown, Afia Charles, Sandy Jean and Erica Winston claimed the top spot in what was the most exciting race of the day. With the crowd on its feet as the teams came around the final turn and down the backstretch, Winston held off a late surge by the competition with a strong push to cross the line in 3:37.83.

For the second year in a row, Coward claimed the top spot in the 100-meter hurdles, posting a new meet record in the process of 12.97. That time was a thousandth of a second off her own school record set earlier this season.

But Â鶹ԭ´´ did not get points from just Coward in the event, as the Knights owned all three spots on the podium with Mica Wimberly claiming the second spot and Karessa Farley taking third, both earning All-C-USA honors. Wimberly, who matched her personal best in the race, just edged Farley as both posted times of 13.41 to earn eight and six points, respectively. Ashley Bolling also scored for the Knights in the event, finishing fifth in 13.82 for the four points.

Coward became a two-time 400-meter hurdles C-USA champion with a meet record 57.59 in the finals. Her time also broke a Â鶹ԭ´´ record she had set in mid-April of 57.78. Jean earned six points as she finished strong down the stretch to place third and earn all-conference honors in a personal-best and Â鶹ԭ´´ freshmen record 58.84. Last year’s champion in the event, Aisha-Maree Frazier placed fifth in a season-best time of 1:00.31 to earn four points for her team.

Coward had previously won the title in the event as a freshman in 2009 as Â鶹ԭ´´ has now won this event three straight seasons.

The Knights continued to own the sprints as Scott broke her one-day old school record in the 100 meters to take the league crown in 11.25. Scott qualified first on Saturday with a then-record time of 11.29, only to best that mark by four-thousandths of a second in the finals to take the top spot on the podium and 10 points for her team. Paul was second with a new personal best of 11.35 to pick up eight points. Booker just missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in a personal-best 11.45, while Layne picked up two points in seventh, running a 11.54 in the finals.

Scott would go on to claim the top spot in the 200 meters as well, making her a two-time C-USA Champion in her first season with the Knights. After winning the 100 meters, Scott moved on to take the top spot in the 200 with a 23.06. Paul earned six points as she finished third in a new personal-best mark of 23.53. Booker (4th, 23.63) and Layne (6th, 23.96) rounded out the event, earning five and three points, respectively.

Â鶹ԭ´´ earned seven more points in the 400 meters as Charles ran the second-fastest time in the event ever by a Knight, crossing fourth in 53.73. Charles set the record of 53.60 on Saturday to qualify for Sunday’s final where she earned five points. Brown was seventh in 54.73 to claim two points.

Freshman thrower Satrina Oliveira opened her competition’s eyes as she moved from sixth on the pre-championship performance list to take third place and earn six points in the discus. Her personal-best throw of 148-08/45.32m in the final flight shot her up the list to earn all-conference honors. Fellow freshman thrower Destinee Romain finished second in the first flight with a distance of 135-03/41.22m, barely missing qualifying for the finals.

Pole vaulter Erica Weiss also stepped up her performance on the final day of competition, setting a new personal record to finish fourth. After cheering on her teammates and watching other events take place for three days, Weiss cleared a height of 12-3.50/3.75m on Sunday afternoon to earn the five points. Just last week at the Â鶹ԭ´´ Twilight, Weiss had set her previous personal-best height of 12-1.25/3.70m, only to break that on the final day of the conference championship meet.

The triple jump saw the Knights add seven more points to their total late in the day as Jacquelyn Gilchrist set a personal record with a jump of 40-6.25/12.35m in Sunday’s final flight. Gilchrist placed fifth to earn four points, while Mica Wimberly was sixth overall in 39-8.50/12.10m to earn three points. Tomika Story was 10th in 38-4.25/11.69m.

Freshman Ne’Ausha Logan also earned a point as she finished eighth in the 800 meters in 2:11.79.

Sunday’s championship marks the first time that a Â鶹ԭ´´ coach has guided a team three straight championship titles.

After jumping out to a strong first day, SMU was not able to sustain the same level of scoring on Sunday, finishing second with 119 points. Houston (87 points), UTEP (74 points) and ECU (71.5 points) rounded out the top five. Houston’s men’s team took the league crown with 175 points in a field of just eight teams.

The Knights will now have an extended break before several members of the team will move on to the NCAA Regionals in Bloomington, Ind., in little over a week.