UM Track Hosts Hurricane Invitational
March 15, 2001
Coral Gables, FL – The University of Miami will host the Hurricane Invitational on Saturday, March 17 at Cobb Stadium for Soccer, Track and Field in Coral Gables, FL. Admission to the event is $5 for adults and $2 for children/seniors.
Competition will begin at 9 a.m. with several field events including the men’s hammer, women’s javelin and women’s high jump. Track competition will begin at noon with the women’s 4×100-meter relay.
The meet is the first of the season for Miami and will include 12 women’s and 13 men’s teams. The strong field consists of six women’s teams and four men’s teams that finished among the top 38 teams in the nation at the recently concluded NCAA Indoor Championships.
“This will be one the best meets we have ever had here in terms of the quality of competition,” said head women’s coach Amy Deem. “Competing against such difficult competition early in the outdoor season will only help us as we prepare for the BIG EAST and NCAA Outdoor Championships.”
Joining the Hurricanes in the men’s field will be No. 14 Texas, No. 16 South Carolina, No. 28 Wisconsin, No. 28 Kentucky, Army, Florida International, Florida Memorial, Jacksonville, New York University, Princeton, Rutgers, Syracuse, South Florida.
The women’s field includes No. 20 Miami, No. 2 South Carolina, No. 22 Jacksonville, No. 25 South Florida, No. 31 Florida International, No. 38 Kentucky, Army, Florida Memorial, Northern Illinois, Princeton, Rutgers and Syracuse.
All-Americans Natalie Watson, Patricia Pearson and Kareen Clarke will lead the Hurricane women. Watson (Coral Springs) and Pearson (Jacksonville, FL) both earned All-America honors in the 800-meters at the 2001 NCAA Indoor Championships while Clarke (Lithonic, GA) earned All-America honors for the second consecutive season in the triple jump.
The Miami men will look to junior Gus Martin (Miami Northwestern), freshman Vince Wilfork (Lantana, FL) and senior Daryl Jones (Dallas, TX). Martin was Miami’s top hurdler during the indoor season recording two meet victories while Jones, a wide receiver on the UM football team, is the two-time defending BIG EAST Champion in the 100-meters. Wilfork exploded on the scene during the indoor season breaking the school-record in the shot put three times.
