Clarke Crushes UM Triple Jump Record

April 1, 2000

Box Score

Coral Gables, FL – Miami sophomore Kareen Clarke (Lithonic, GA) shattered the UM record in the triple jump and the Hurricanes recorded six first-place finishes at the 14th Miami/Gatorade Track and Field Classic in Coral Gables.

Clarke, who earned All-America honors with a fifth-place finish at the 2000 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, recorded the second longest leap in the nation with a mark of 13.53 meters (44-04.75) in winning this year’s Gatorade title.

Clarke’s mark automatically qualifies her for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Durham, NC (May 31-June 1) and broke the old UM record of 12.76 meters (41-10.50) by nearly three feet.

Two other Hurricanes provisionally qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Senior Caldrequis Lesley (Anderson, SC) won the men’s 110-meter hurdles in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 13.87, while All-American Natalie Watson (Coral Springs) ran an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 2:06.86 in leading a 1-2-3 sweep of the 800-meters.

Watson later joined sophomore Jenise Winston (League City, TX), freshman Saraque Whittaker (Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas) and junior Wyllesheia Myrick (Miami Northwestern) in taking first in the 4×400-meter relay with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 3:37.34.

The UM men’s 4×100-meter relay was also victorious as sophomore Gus Martin (Miami Northwestern), junior Joseph Mbayen (Cameroon, Africa), freshman Clinton Portis (Gainesville, FL) and freshman Tory Mitchell (Big Spring, TX)combined to win in a time of 40.68.

Other Hurricane first-place finishers included junior Wyllesheia Myrick (Miami Northwestern) who won the women’s 400-meters with a school-record tying mark of 54.20, and senior Nick Gramsky (Chesapeake Beach, MD) who won the men’s 3000-meters (8:42.63).

Miami also saw another school record fall as freshman Adrienne Moss (Miami Southridge) took second in the shot put with a UM record toss of 13.65 meters (44-09.50).