Women's Track Moves Up To 13th In Nation
May 8, 2002
Coral Gables, FL (hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami women’s track and field team moved up 11 spots to No. 13 in the latest Trackwire Top-25 rankings following an impressive performance at the BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships last weekend in Storrs, CT.
Miami recorded five individual BIG EAST titles and one relay championship en route to its fourth conference team title in the last five seasons. The Hurricanes’ 150 points were the most at the BIG EAST Championships since the 1990, while the 40 point margin of victory was the largest since 1992.
Freshman Lauryn Williams (Rochester, PA) and senior Wyllesheia Myrick (Miami Northwestern) led the way for the Hurricanes finishing one-two in both the 100-meters and 200-meters.
Williams, ranked sixth in the nation in the 100-meters, won the BIG EAST 100-meter title with a school-record time of 11.40. Myrick, ranked 10th in the nation in the 100-meters, finished close behind with a time of 11.48.
The two reversed places in the 200-meters. Myrick, who is also ranked 21st in the nation in the event, won with a season-best time of 23.55, while Williams finished second with a time of 23.71.
Junior Jamillah Wade (Philadelphia, PA) successfully defended her BIG EAST title from last season taking first in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.04. Wade is currently ranked 29th in the nation in the 400-hurdles.
Junior Sharianne Lawson (Palm Beach Lakes), ranked seventh in the nation, won the 100-meter hurdle title in a time of 13.63. Lawson is also ranked 22nd in the nation in the long jump.
Four-time All-American Kareen Clarke (Lithonia, GA) defended her BIG EAST title in the triple jump with a school and BIG EAST record jump of 13.35 meters (43-09.75) and finished third in the long jump with a leap of 6.23 meters (20-05.25). Clarke ranks second in the nation in the triple jump and 11th in the nation in the long jump. She is one of only two athletes to rank in the top-12 in the nation in both the long jump and triple jump.
The Hurricanes have a total of three long jumpers on the NCAA list. Joining Clarke and Lawson is junior Gina Harris (Philadelphia, PA) who ranks 16th in the nation. Harris finished second in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump at the BIG EAST Championships.
Other individuals ranked on the NCAA list include junior Saraque Whittaker (Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas) who is 22nd in the nation in the 400-meters, and junior Patricia Pearson (Jacksonville, FL) who ranks 19th in the nation in the 800-meters.
Miami also has two relays on the NCAA list. The 4×100-meter relay of Myrick, Williams, Lawson and freshman Wiande Moore (Spring, TX) ranks ninth in the nation, while the BIG EAST Champion 4×400-meter relay of Whittaker, Wade, senior Jenise Winston (League City, TX) and sophomore Kitoya Carter (Miami Northwestern) ranks fifth in the nation.
TRACKWIRE RANKINGS1 UCLA 872 USC 783 LSU 654 South Carolina 525 Colorado 266 Arizona 25 Texas 258 Kansas State 24 Nebraska 2410 North Carolina 2311 Illinois 2012 Oregon 1913 Miami (FL) 18 Rice 1815 Indiana 17 Stanford 17 North Carolina St. 1718 Auburn 1619 Iowa State 1520 Washington State 14 Ohio State 1422 Florida 13 Clemson 13 California 1325 Liberty 12 Missouri 12 Virginia 12
