The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Knight, Reid part of Penn Relays 2020 Wall of Fame class
12.04.2019 | Track & Field / Cross Country
Bianca Knight was part of the 2012 USA 4x100m relay team, while Suziann Reid set records in 400m competition.
PHILADELPHIA – Former Texas Track and Field stars Bianca Knight (2007-08) and Suziann Reid (1996-99) are both part of the Penn Relays 2020 Wall of Fame Class, which includes four individuals and five relay teams.
Knight was part of the 2012 USA vs. The World women's 4x100-meter relay team (USA Red) that also featured Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix and Carmelita Jeter. The event winners ran the 4x100-meter realy in 42.19, which remains the Penn Relay Carnival and Franklin Field record for that event. At the Olympics in London that same year, the same quartet, in the same order, set the world record of 40.82, a time that still stands seven years later.
Knight competed at Texas as a freshman in the 2007-08 season. She won the 200-meter dash at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships with a collegiate-record time of 22.40. She turned professional after her freshman season and finished fifth at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 200 meters.
Reid had success at the Penn Relays as a high school, collegiate and professional competitor during her career, tallying seven relay victories across the three levels. She was the High School Girls Athlete of the Meet in 1995 with what was at the time the fastest 400 split time in Penn Relays history for high school girls (52.1). While at Texas, Reid became only the second woman to be on four-straight winning college women's 4x400-meter relay teams, anchoring the last two. She later was on the winning 4x400-meter relay team at the first USA vs. The World competition in 2000, adding a second title in 2004.
Reid competed at Texas from 1996-99, winning 10 NCAA event titles in the 400 meters and relays. She was the first three-time NCAA women's outdoor 400-meter champion and earned 17 All-America honors in three events. Reid led UT to four indoor/outdoor NCAA team titles in the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons. She was named the Honda Broderick Award recipient as the Track and Field Athlete of the Year, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Indoor Athlete of the Year and the Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year during the 1998-99 academic year. Reid won eight Big 12 even times and seven Big 12 track team titles during her career. She received her bachelor's degree in sport management in 2000.
Since the first class in 1994, the Penn Relays Wall of Fame has sought to honor the best individual athletes and relay teams that have competed at historic Franklin Field. Only performances at the Relays itself are considered for nomination, and all individual athletes must have retired from professional track and field.
