UM Hosts Gatorade Invitational
April 9, 2004
Coral Gables, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – The University of Miami will host the Miami Gatorade Track and Field Invitational, Saturday, April 10 at Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables, Fla.
Field events will start at noon, with track events beginning at 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for youth 17 and under and seniors 60 and over.
The 10-team field includes some of the top programs in the nation including LSU, the 2004 Men’s and Women’s Indoor National Champions, Kansas State, Maryland, Marquette, Tulane, South Florida, Florida International, Florida Atlantic and Florida Memorial.
The meet also marks the final home meet for 12 UM seniors who will be honored during the competition.
The eighth-ranked UM women look to continue their strong start to the season having already recorded 13 regional and 29 BIG EAST qualifying marks. Leading the Hurricane charge this weekend will be seven-time All-American Lauryn Williams (Rochester, Pa.) and freshman sensation Tabia Charles (Pickering, Ontario).
Williams, the 2003 Pan American Games gold medalist at 100-meters, will compete in both the 100-meters and 200-meters. The 200-meters could be a finals preview of the NCAA Outdoor Championships with Williams facing LSU’s Muna Lee, the 2004 NCAA Indoor Champion at 60-meters and runner-up in the 200-meters at last season’s NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Charles, who broke her own Canadian Junior triple jump record at the Texas Relays last weekend, currently has the second best mark by a collegian this year (13.43 meters/44-00.75). At the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships she finished fourth in both the long jump and triple jump earning All-America honors in both events.
Charles will participate in the long jump along with three other University of Miami NCAA regional qualifiers including junior Chinela Davis (Haverstraw, N.Y.), freshman Brenda Faluade (Katy, Texas) and freshman Amy Seward (Virginia Beach, Va.). The outstanding field also includes Maryland’s Kierra Foster who finished 13th at the NCAA Indoor Championships and Kansas State’s JaNelle Wright, who has the third best mark in the nation this season, and Queeneth Evurunobi who has recorded the 13th-best jump in the nation.
The triple jump competition boasts three of the top jumpers in the nation. Scheduled to compete are UM senior Kitoya Carter (Miami Northwestern), the 2003 East Regional Champion LSU’s Nicole Toney, fourth at last season’s NCAA Outdoor Championships and Kansas State’s Queeneth Evurunobi, an NCAA regional qualifier.
The women’s 4×100-meter relay and 4×400-meter relay also highlight’s Saturday’s action. Three of the nation’s top foursomes will participate in the 4×100-meter relay as LSU, ranked No. 1, Miami, ranked No. 3, and Kansas State, ranked 18th, are all scheduled to compete. Later in the evening Miami’s seventh-ranked 4×400-meter relay will do battle with No. 2 LSU.
On the men’s side the Hurricanes enter the meet having already recorded 15 BIG EAST qualifying marks this season including one regional qualifying mark.
Leading the Hurricanes will be a talented group of sprinters including junior Tanard Davis (Miami Northwestern), the BIG EAST Indoor 60-meter Champion, and freshman Devin Hester (Riviera Beach, Fla.). Both have already qualified for the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships.
Miami’s 4×100-meter relay of will take on two of the top relays in the nation including No. 1 ranked LSU and 12th-ranked Kansas State. Miami has the top time in the BIG EAST this season.
Also highlighting Saturday’s action will be the long jump and triple jump.
NCAA Indoor long jump champion John Moffitt (LSU) will be in action while the triple jump boasts two of the top-3 finishers at this year’s NCAA Indoor Championships including NCAA Champion Lejuan Simon (LSU) and third-place finisher Willie Bradley (LSU).
