Experience a typical training session, a championship meet and more with UCF’s track and field student-athletes. Click here to watch a behind-the-scenes video filmed by UCF Athletics. 

For the past 20 weeks, the No. 13 UCF 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.

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

Jumpers Sonnisha Williams and Jacquelyn Gilchrist will start things off Wednesday in the long jump. UCF 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 Aurieyall Scott, Octavious Freeman and Sheila Paul 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 UCF in the 200 meters Thursday, and the Knights again own the most entries in the event of any program in the country.

Senior Jackie Coward 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.

UCF at the NCAA Championships

Wednesday, June 6

Long Jump Finals — 5:30 p.m.
(Sonnisha Williams, Jacquelyn Gilchrist)

100 Meters Semifinals – 7:30 p.m.
(Aurieyall Scott, Octavious Freeman, Sheila Paul)

Thursday, June 7

200 Meters Semifinals – 5:45 p.m.
(Aurieyall Scott, Octavious Freeman, Sheila Paul)

100 Hurdles Semifinals – 7:10 p.m.
(Jackie Coward)

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.