June 9, 2009
CORAL GABLES – After receiving their highest ranking of the season from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, the No.13 University of Miami women’s track and field team will head to Fayetteville, Ark for the 2009 NCAA Track and Field National Championships, June 10-13.
Led by the USTFCCCA South Region Track Performer of the Year, Murielle Ahoure, the Hurricanes will compete in a total of five events and have five competitors ranked in the top 10 in four different events.
The 4×100 relay team will run in the semifinal round Wednesday at 6 p.m. as the first of four events for Miami on the opening day of the four-day meet. The team of Tara Thomas, Kristy Whyte, Nene Kamate and Ahoure are currently the eighth-ranked squad in the nation. The round will have four heats with the winner of each heat advancing to Friday’s final plus the next four best times.
The second-ranked Ahoure will not have much time to rest before her first round heat in the 100-meter dash, which begins at 7 p.m. Of the four heats the top three plus the next four best times advance to the semifinal, later in the evening at 8:30. Should Ahoure finish among the top three in one of the semifinal heats or the next two best times, the Bristow, Va. native will compete in the finals Saturday at 8:35 p.m.
Tameka Jameson and Ti’erra Brown will both be in the 400-meter hurdle opening round at 7:30 p.m. and the sophomores come into the event with a No. 3 and No. 8 ranking, respectively. There will be five heats in the first round with the top two from each heat plus the next six best times moving onto the semifinal round, Thursday at 7:45 p.m. The finals are scheduled for Friday at 8:55 p.m. and will include the top three from the two semifinal heats plus the next two best times.
Junior Deandra Doyley will be the lone UM student-athlete to compete in a field event as the long jumper will begin her quest to become an All-American at 8:30 p.m. in the semifinal round on Wednesday. If the Lauderdale Lakes native is among the top-12, she will move to Thursday’s final at 5:45 p.m.
Both the No. 6 ranked Ahoure and No. 10 Whyte will be competing in the 200-meter dash first round on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. The format for the 200 will follow that of the 400-meter hurdles, with the semifinals later in the evening at 7:35 and the finals on Saturday at 1:35 p.m.
Ahoure and Brown are the only two Hurricanes with experience at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships as Ahoure advanced to the 100-meter semifinals in 2007 and Brown finished eighth in the 400-meters a season ago, claiming All-American honors.
All four days of the meet will be streamed live at ncaa.com/champinships and recaps of each day’s event will be available at hurricanesports.com. On Friday, June 12, CBS College Sports will begin live televised coverage at 7 p.m. with CBS covering Saturday’s events starting at 1 p.m.