UM Track Hosts Gatorade Classic
April 11, 2001
Coral Gables, FL – The University of Miami men’s and women’s track teams will host the 15th Annual Miami Gatorade Track and Field Classic on Saturday, April 14 at the Cobb Stadium for Soccer, Track and Field in Coral Gables.
The meet, which is the final home meet of the season for the Hurricanes, will start with field events at 9 a.m. Running events will begin at noon. Tickets for the event are $5 for adults and $3 for children 17-and-under.
Joining Miami at this year’s Gatorade Classic will be a strong field including Alabama, Florida International and South Florida.
All-Americans Kareen Clarke (Lithonic, GA) and Natalie Watson (Coral Springs) will lead the Hurricane women.
Clarke recently earned All-America honors in the triple jump for the second consecutive season on the strength of her seventh-place finish at the 2001 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. She currently ranks fourth in the nation in the triple jump.
Watson, the school record holder in the indoor and outdoor 800-meter run, also took home All-America honors for the second straight season with a fourth-place finish in the 800-meters. Watson currently ranks fifth in the nation in the 800-meters.
Other Hurricanes in the national rankings include senior Antonnikka Owens (Orlando, FL) who ranks fifth in the triple jump and the women’s 4×400-meter relay of junior Jenise Winston (League City, TX), sophomore Jamillah Wade (Philadelphia, PA), sophomore Saraque Whittaker (Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas) and freshman Kitoya Carter (Miami Northwestern) which currently ranks eighth in the nation.
The Hurricane men will look to senior Joseph Mbayen (Paris, France), and juniors Gus Martin (Miami Northwestern) and Jabari Ennis (Kingston, Jamaica).
Mbayen has recorded the Hurricanes’ top marks this season in the 100-meters and 200-meters and is currently the No. 1 ranked 100-meter runner in the BIG EAST.
Martin, ranked No. 1 in the BIG EAST in the 110-meter hurdles, will look to continue his impressive season. Martin has three top-4 finishes this season including a victory at the FIU Invitational on March 24.
Ennis has also had a strong outdoor season recording four top-5 finishes in the pole vault including a first-place at the FIU Invitational on March 24. Ennis ranks No. 1 in the BIG EAST in the pole vault.
The meet will also be highlighted by the return of Hurricane greats Gillian Russell and Yolanda McCray in the 100-meter hurdles. Russell, a nine-time All-American while at UM from 1992-95, won NCAA Championships in 100-hurdles in 1993, 1994 and 1995. McCray, a six-time All-American from 1995-99, took home the NCAA Championship in the 100-hurdles in 1999.
