{"id":120698,"date":"2021-06-21T09:55:40","date_gmt":"2021-06-21T13:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698//?p=120698"},"modified":"2022-03-09T17:03:52","modified_gmt":"2022-03-09T22:03:52","slug":"a-ucf-knights-journey-to-usa-track-field-olympic-team-trials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698//a-ucf-knights-journey-to-usa-track-field-olympic-team-trials/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698//","title":{"rendered":"A UCF Knight/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2019s Journey to USA Track & Field Olympic Team Trials"},"content":{"rendered":"
It/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2019s easy to like Rayniah Jones. Her bubbly personality charms a stranger almost instantly. Her teammates adore her /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2014 so much so that even though their season on the track had ended, several were willing to endure the unrelenting summer heat every day just so Jones didn/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2019t have to train by herself as she prepared for the USA Track & Field Olympic Team Trials./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201cI think that speaks a lot to who she is,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201d UCF track and field head coach Dana Boone says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201cEvery once in a while, you come across someone who is really special, and she/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2019s one of those people./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n
Below the surface, though, lies Jones/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2019 drive to break out and break away /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2014 to keep running and never look back at her past./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n
Jones was a two-time state champion at Miami Southridge Senior High School and graduated with the highest academic honors. While her public life was shiny and bright, her home life told a different story./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n
She says her mental health took a dive while living with her mother, who was dealing with her own personal struggles after serving in the military and living with PTSD./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201cIt just took a lot for me emotionally and mentally, and I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2019m very proud of myself for even coming to this point,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201d Jones says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201cMy mom has taught me how to carry myself. She has taught me a lot of patience. I would go to practice just to not think about everything. When my coaches told me you can go college for free, I said, /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2018OK, I/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2019m just going to run./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n
Boone thinks the adversity Jones faced has helped shape her into who she is today./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n
/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201cI always tell kids, everything is a choice,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201d Boone says. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201cNow I understand certain things happen to certain people, but how you respond to it is still a choice. She chose the positive side of life instead of the negative side./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n
Three treasured items in Jones/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2019 dorm room at UCF help keep her focused on the positive./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n
Her Build-a-Bear, Lola. Perched right next to Lola is her 2021 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year trophy. And /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2014 the most important of all /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/u2014 a sticky note reminding her of all she has accomplished, and all she has planned to come./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n
The note lists her goals for the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and her signature event, the 100-meter hurdles. Personal best times for all three events have been scratched out throughout this season and redefined./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/120698/n