CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Fresh off a solid performance at the ACC IndoorChampionships, several members of the University of Miami Track and Fieldprogram head back on the road to compete for a spot in the NCAA Championships.
“At this point, to be honest, it’s about how much they wantto get to the NCAA Championships,” Miami director of track and field and cross countryAmy Deem said. “That’s what these meets are about.”
Alaine Tate will head to South Bend, Ind., for the AlexWilson Invitational on the University of Notre Dame’s campus. After anoutstanding performance at the ACC Indoor Championships, the junior willcompete in the women’s 800m at 12:55 p.m. ET on Sat., March 2.
Tate, who transferred to Miami from Hampton University,broke the Miami indoor record in the women’s 800m during preliminaries at ACCIndoors. Her preliminary time of 2:06.09 put her in Miami’s record books andgave her the opportunity to run in the finals, where she placed second with atime of 2:07.54.
While Tate is running in Indiana, three Canes will head backto Blacksburg, Va., to compete in the Virginia Tech Qualifier. Isaiah Simmons,Alyssa McClure and Samantha Williams will make their third trip to Rector FieldHouse this season.
Simmons, a redshirt freshman, continued his stellar indoorseason by earning an ACC Championship in the men’s shot put with a throw of 58’1.75″.
Simmons’ season got off to a strong start. He broke Miami’s nearly 12-year-old shot putrecord at the Kentucky Invitational, his first collegiate meet. Simmons scoredhis first collegiate victory at the New Mexico Classic and earned an ACC titlelast Saturday.
McClure also had a strong showing in Blacksburg lastweekend, qualifying for the final in the women’s 60m and the women’s 200m.
The junior finished third in the women’s 60m dash with atime of 7.36 seconds, while placing fifth in the 200m with a time of 24.20seconds. This week, McClure will focus solely on the 60m dash scheduled for12:20 p.m. on Sat., March 2.
Williams, who has competed in both the triple jump and longjump this season, will focus on her best event at the VT Qualifier.
The senior All-American, who has three Top 3 finishes in thetriple jump on the year, will try to regain the form that helped her finishsecond in the event at this season’s Virginia Tech Elite Meet. She also foundsuccess in the Auburn Invitational, where she beat out a field of 21 to win thetriple jump.
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