Track and Field Head To Penn Relays
April 24, 2008
CORAL GABLES – Members of the <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>University of Miami men’s and women’s track and field teams will be participating in the Penn Relays this Thursday through Saturday, the nation’s first and oldest relay event. The event will be held at Penn’s Franklin Field.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
A day after the USTFCCCA announced the Hurricane women were ranked eighth in the nation after their performance at the ACC Outdoor Championships, they will send 10 different student-athletes to perform at the nation’s oldest relay event.
Sophomore Deandra Doyley gets things started for the women on Thursday at noon as she will attempt to break her season-best mark in the long jump. She leapt 6.09m for a second-place finish at last weekend’s ACC Championships.
Doyley will also participate in the triple jump Friday morning at 10 a.m. Her season and career-best mark came on April 12, at 12.30m.
Freshman Ti’erra Brown will be the only other woman performing as an individual as she will run in the 100-meter hurdles, an event where she is ranked eight nationally in. Her best time of 13.17 came at the Florida Relays on April 5.
There will be three different relay events that Miami will run, in the shuttle hurdle, sprint medley and the 4x400m.
The 4×400 will start Thursday at 5:25 p.m. with 2008 ACC Most Valuable Track Performer Kristy Whyte joining Tameka and Takecia Jameson and Brown, who look to register the team’s fourth NCAA Regional Qualifying time.
Freshman Takecia Jameson and Brown will be joined by sophomores Doyley and Nene Kamate will take part in the shuttle hurdle Friday at 3 p.m.
The sprint medley relay will get underway Friday at 6:10 p.m. as Kamate, freshmen Tara Thomas and Charlene Fuller and junior All-American Ena Leufroy will look to place in the event.
The men’s team will get started on Friday with high jumper Elan Daviglus and pole vaulter Casey McGinn. Daviglus, a junior, recorded his best mark of the season last week at the ACC Championships at 2.04m, good for a fourth place finish.
McGinn’s season-best mark came during the first meet of the outdoor season, March 22 at Miami’s own Hurricane Invitational. The senior won the event with a height of 4.85m.
The 4×100 relay team will be in action as well with Shawnbrey McNeal, DeMarcus Van Dyke, Khalil Jones and Bruce Johnson each running a leg. In their only completed race, the men finished sixth at the ACC Championships last weekend with a time of 40.75. Sophomore Cory Nelms is listed as the alternate.
Nelms will also take part in the 110-meter hurdles, where he holds six different regional qualifying finishes this season. His best time of 13.93 came in the preliminary heat of the conference championships.
The Hurricane will wrap up their events on Friday with the sprint medley relay, with Van Dyke, McNeal, Nelms and four-time All-American Tim Harris running a leg each.
The 4×100 relay and the 110-meter hurdles on Friday are preliminary heats with the nine fastest times advancing to the finals on Saturday
