Women's Track Ranked 19th in Preseason Poll
Jan. 18, 2004
Coral Gables, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami women’s track and field team is ranked 19th in the preseason Trackwire 25 rankings released this week.
The Hurricanes return four All-Americans from last season’s squad that won the BIG EAST Indoor and Outdoor Championships and recorded top-18 finishes at both the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
Miami’s sprinting core is led by five-time All-American Lauryn Williams. The junior from Rochester, Pennsylvania returns this season after a spectacular summer in which she won gold medals in the 100-meters and 4×100-meter relay at the 2003 Pan American games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Williams, the two-time defending BIG EAST 60-meter and 100-meter champion, earned All-America honors in the 60-meters, 100-meters and 4×100-meter relay last season, and is currently the UM record holder in five events including the 55-meters (6.82), 60-meters (7.22), indoor 200-meters (23.53), 100-meters (11.12) and 4×100-meter relay (43.96).
Also returning is four-time All-American Charlette Greggs. Greggs returns for her sophomore season after recording one of the best freshman seasons in school-history a year ago. Greggs won BIG EAST Outdoor titles in the 200-meters, 400-meters and 4×100-meter relay, and went on to earn All-America honors in the 400-meters, 4×100-meter relay and 4×400-meter relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Greggs is the only track athlete in school-history to earn All-America honors in three events at an NCAA Championship meet. In addition Greggs is the defending BIG EAST Indoor 200-meter champion and earned indoor All-America honors in the 4×400-meter relay. Last season she set school-records in the indoor 400-meters (52.79), outdoor 400-meters (51.65), 4×100-meter relay (43.96), indoor 4×400-meter relay (3:33.37), and outdoor 4×400-meter relay (3:30.74).
The Hurricanes return three legs of both the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays. Joining Greggs and Williams as a returning 4×100-meter relay All-American is sophomore Dominique Darden. Darden excelled on the relays last season earning All-America honors in the 4×100-meter relay as well as the indoor and outdoor 4×400-meter relays. She was a member of four school-record setting relays including the indoor 4×400-meter relay, the indoor 4×440-yard relay, the outdoor 4×100-meter relay and the outdoor shuttle hurdle relay.
All-American Kitoya Carter also returns as a key piece of the Miami relays. The senior is the defending BIG EAST Indoor Champion at 400-meters and earned All-America honors as a member of the indoor and outdoor 4×400-meter relays. She a member of five school-record relays including the indoor 4×400-meter relay, indoor 4×440-yard relay, outdoor 4×200-meter relay, outdoor 4×400-meter relay and outdoor sprint medley relay.
Miami’s highly regarded recruiting class includes Tabia Charles (Pickering, Ontario), Brenda Faluade (Katy, Texas) and Amy Seward (Virginia Beach, Virginia).
Charles is a three-time National Scholastic Indoor Champion in the triple jump (2001, 2002, 2003) and the Canadian Junior Record holder in the triple jump both indoors (13.13 meters/43-01.00) and outdoors (12.95 meters/42-06.00).
Charles recorded Canada’s top mark in the triple jump (13.13 meters) during the 2003 indoor season and is the defending Canadian Junior Champion in the triple jump. She also finished second in the long jump at the 2002 Canadian Junior Championships.
Faluade, the 2003 Texas District 19-5A Champion in the long jump (20-00.00) and triple jump (40-02.00), finished second at the State 5A Championships in the long jump (20-00.00) and fifth in the triple jump (39-00.75).
Seward has won an astounding 36 championships including 19 district, nine region and eight state titles during her four years of track competition. As a senior she won the state indoor long jump championship, as well as outdoor state titles in the high jump and triple jump.
Last season the Hurricane throwers combined to recorded the best season in school history, and all three major contributors return in 2004.
Senior Adrienne Moss returns after winning the BIG EAST Outdoor shot put title and setting school-records in the indoor shot put (15.89 meters), indoor weight throw (16.81 meters), outdoor shot put (15.88 meters), and outdoor hammer (50.80 meters).
Also returning is senior Jennifer Penrose. Penrose won the BIG EAST Outdoor shot put title in 2001, and last season finished second to Moss, while also taking fifth at BIG EAST Outdoors in the discus.
Moss and Penrose both qualified for the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the shot put.
Senior Megan Cobb is Miami’s top returner in the javelin and was UM’s top finisher at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships in the hammer taking fifth.
Trackwire 25 Preseason Rankings
1. LSU 712. Texas 48 Florida 484. Stanford 325. UCLA 306. Arkansas 297. North Carolina 28 Nebraska 289. Colorado 2210. South Carolina 20 BYU 20 West Virginia 2013. Tennessee 19 Kansas State 1915. Georgia 1716. Baylor 16 Florida State 1618. Providence 1519. Miami-FL 12 Georgia Tech 1221. Notre Dame 1122. Penn State 9 Arizona 924. Clemson 8 Mississippi St. 8 Kent State 8
-30-
