UM's Lauryn Williams Named Outstanding Performer At BIG EAST Women's Indoor Track Championships.
Feb. 17, 2002
SYRACUSE, New York (www.hurricanesports.com) – Freshman Lauryn Williams won the 60- and 200-meter dash titles to earn Most Outstanding Performer honors as the Miami Hurricanes women’s track and field team produced a school-best 106 points for a third place finish at the BIG EAST Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York.
Miami’s 16 athletes produced the school-record performance as the Hurricanes pressed eventual champion Notre Dame (114 points) and runner-up Georgetown (112) to the end in a tight team finish. But Williams’ outstanding performance was the story of the meet for Miami, which produced BIG EAST champions in four individual events on Sunday. In addition to Williams’ sprint titles, Miami garnered victories from Kareen Clarke in the triple jump and Sarraque Whittaker in the 500 meters.
“We did a lot of good things,” said Miami head coach Amy Deem. “We expected to compete for the team title and we did, but we didn’t have much room for error today. We scored 106 points from 16 athletes at this meet and, for a warm-weather school that can’t put an emphasis on indoor events, we had an excellent meet.”
Williams led a strong Miami quartet in the 60 as the Hurricanes racked up 21 team points in the race. Williams won in a time of 7.38, improving her NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Wyllesheia Myrick was fourth for Miami in 7.54 with Gina Harris fifth (7.62) and Wiande Moore seventh (7.69). Williams’ 23.91 clocking in the 200 victory was the nation’s eight-fastest in the event and qualifies her for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Miami scored 18 more points in the 200 with Myrick placing fourth in 24.26 and Moore sixth in 24.93.
Whittaker’s victory in the 500 was the first BIG EAST title in the event by a Miami athlete. She broke the tape in 1:11.52 to edge Notre Dame’s Liz Grow (1:11.65) by .13.
Perhaps the top individual performance by a Hurricane athlete was produced by Kareen Clarke in the triple jump. The senior produced a winning leap of 43 feet, 3 inches (13.18 meters) to earn her third consecutive BIG EAST Indoor title in the event. Clarke’s performance wasn’t her seasonal best, but outdistanced the field by almost three feet. Gina Harris, who placed second in Saturday’s long jump (in which Clarke was third), was the runner-up in the triple with a leap of 40-4 ľ (12.31m) as Miami earned 18 team points in the event.
Other scorers for Miami on Sunday were Jamillah Wade and Jenise Winston who placed sixth and seventh, respectively in the 400 meters, Patricia Pearson who was sixth in the 800 meters and Jennifer Penrose who was seventh in the shot put. Miami’s 4×400-meter relay of Myrick, Clarke, Wade and Winston placed fourth in 3:45.35.
Sunday's Miami Women's Results from the BIG EAST Championships:Women's Team Scoring (Final)1. Notre Dame 112, 2. Georgetown, 110, 5, 3. MIAMI, 106, 4. Seton Hall, 95, 5. West Virginia, 68, 6. Villanova, 55, 7. Pittsburgh, 52, 8. Syracuse, 48, 9. Connecticut, 36, 10. Providence, 26, 11. Boston College, 21.5, 12. St. John's, 20, 13. Rutgers, 18, 14. Virginia Tech, 11.5.
60-Meter Dash1. Lauryn Williams, 7.38, 4. Wylleshia Myrick, 7.54, 5. Gina Harris, 7.62, 7. Wiande Moore, 7.69200 Meters1. Lauryn Williams, 23.91, 4. Wylleshia Myrick, 24.26, 6. Wiande Moore, 24.93400 Meters6. Jamillah Wade, 57.32, 7. Jenise Winston, 57.53500 Meters1. Sarraque Whittaker, 1:11.52800 Meters6. Patricia Pearson, 2:10.94Triple Jump1. Kareen Clarke, 43-3 (13.18m), 2. Gina Harris, 40-4 ľ (12.31m)Shot Put7. Jennifer Penrose, 46-3 Ľ (14.10m)20-lb. Weight Throw12. Megan Cobb, 46-11 (14.30m)4×400-Meter Relay4. Myrick, Clarke, Wade and Winston, 3:45.354×800-Meter Relay9. Whittaker, Geroux, Pearson and Madison, 9:29.43
