Hurricanes Ready for Friday's ACC Prelims
April 15, 2010
CORAL GABLES – The University of Miami track and field teams competed in the first day of the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Clemson’s Rock Norman Track and Field Complex on Thursday.
Britney Clarke reached season-best marks in 100m hurdles (14.24) and the shot put (10.23m, 33-06.75) and is in sixth place after four events of the heptathlon with 2,963 points. Her teammate Rachel Dupree is right behind her in seventh place with 2,960 points. The duo with wrap-up the heptathlon at 10:30 a.m.
In the first of her three scheduled events this weekend, senior Miranda Wilson reached a season-best mark in the discus. She finished in eighth place reaching 45.52m (149-04.00), earning the first team point for the Hurricanes. Wilson will compete in the shot put on Friday and the hammer throw on Staurday.
Friday’s running events will begin at 3 p.m. and the rest of the `Canes will be in action, led by the 13th-ranked women.
Individually, Ti’erra Brown is ranked No. 2 in both the 100 and 400m hurdles and with Tameka and Takecia Jameson, the trio have three of the ACC’s top six 400m hurdle times. Takecia Jameson and Brown will race in both hurdle events as well as the 4×100 relay and each will compete in the 4×400 relay. Tameka Jameson is also scheduled to run in the 200 and 400m dashes, where she holds the fourth and second-best ACC times of the season respectively.
Senior Kristy Whyte and junior Tarika Williams are also among the ACC’s best in the 200m dash. Each woman is also set to compete in the 100m dash as well as run a leg of the 4×100 relay. The season-best time in the 4×100 relay this season was 44.62 seconds – third-best in the conference.
Ashley Dukes, the reigning ACC champion in the 60m dash will also run in each the 100m dash and as a member of the 4×100 relay.
Deandra Doyley will be looking to end her ACC career with all-conference performances in both the long and triple jumps. The Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. native ranks second in the conference in the long jump and third in the triple jump. Sophomore Brittni Finch, who claimed All-America honors in the indoor long jump this past season, will compete in both events as well.
Megan Novinger, who has been steadily improving in the high jump every week, will be competing on Saturday. With her leap of 1.77m (5-09.75) last week at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational, she moved into third-place in school history.
Like the women, the men’s squad has a very successful hurdle group. Sophomore Devon Hill recorded the conference’s fastest time in the 110m hurdles this season, at 13.88 seconds this past weekend. He also holds the second-best time in the 400m hurdles at 52.46 seconds. Hill won the ACC Championship this year in the 60m hurdles and will look to have a similar result this weekend.
Cory Nelms won the 2008 60m hurdle ACC Championship and currently holds the conference’s fifth-best 110m hurdle time and is third in the 400m hurdles.
At the Hurricane Alumni Invitational on Saturday, April 10, the men’s 4×100 relay team ran the fastest time in 12 seasons, when they won the event in 40.15 seconds. The result was the third-best in program history and the football players that made up the squad are all looking to score points in Clemson.
Travis Benjamin, Storm Johnson, Brandon McGee, Lamar Miller, and DeMarcus Van Dyke will each run in the 100m dash and some will join up to form the 4×100 team.
Another UM footballer, Micanor Regis will be competing in Friday’s shot put.
For daily recaps and results visit hurricanesports.com throughout the weekend. For live results visit theacc.com/championships.
