Canes Track Set for ACC Outdoor Championships
RALEIGH, N.C. – The University of Miami track and field program is set to compete against its conference foes at the ACC Outdoor Championships.
A week after closing out their home schedule with the Hurricane Alumni Invitational, the Canes will head to Raleigh, N.C., to compete against the other 11 Atlantic Coast Conference schools in a three-day meet beginning Thursday, April 18.
“They knew it was their last meet at home and being in front of family and friends, it was great experience for them,” said Miami director of track & field and cross country Amy Deem. “We’ve been struggling, but to go out and run the way they did, I was very pleased.”
Deem is excited to see how Miami will fare in the women’s 4x100m relay after watching Alyssa McClure, Jokira Jiles, Jasmyne King and Kelsey Balkwill post a time of 45.05 seconds at last week’s Hurricane Alumni Invitational.
“They’re seeded high in the region,” Deem said. “Watching last week’s performance, it was really impressive watching them run last week. That was probably the best thing to happen for us on the women’s side.”
Along with the relay team, throwers Amber Monroe and Lea Johnson are women with a chance to shine at the ACC Outdoor Championships.
Monroe, who will also throw shot put at ACCs, won the women’s discus throw at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational with a toss of 158’ 4”. Johnson is coming off another strong showing, placing third in the women’s hammer throw at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational with a personal-best mark of 178’.
Other women to watch include jumpers Samantha Williams, Alexis Wright and Dakota Dailey-Harris and distance runners Alaine Tate, Taneisha Cordell and Lindsi Arrington.
Miami’s men will look for another big performance from standout thrower Isaiah Simmons. The redshirt freshman set a personal-best in discus at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational with a throw of 169’ 1”. Simmons will compete in shot put, discus and hammer throw in Raleigh.
“Isaiah is looking for a big performance this weekend and I hope he just goes out there and shows what he’s capable of,” Deem said.
Hurricane jumpers John-Patrick Friday and Timothy Richardson are two student-athletes to watch at ACC Outdoor Championships. Friday, a freshman, placed second in the men’s high jump at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational, clearing a personal-best 6’ 9.75”. Richardson, a sophomore, finished second in the men’s long jump with a mark of 23’ 3.25”.
Distance runners Greg Kaczka and Sean Pezzulo along with sprinters Bassim El-Sabawi and Anthony Wolliston and hurdler Christian Cook are other student-athletes to watch on the men’s side.
While the Canes have several student-athletes on both the men’s and women’s teams that are expected to lead the program in Raleigh, Coach Deem expects a collective effort from the entire program.
“It’s ACC week. It’s what you’ve been training all year for,” Deem said. “It’s not about one person, it’s about a team effort. Everybody needs to step up so when they walk off the track, they can say they left everything on the track.”
Fans can follow the action on all three days via live video streaming on theACC.com. Coverage is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, 5-8:30 p.m. on Friday, and 4-8 p.m. on Saturday. Viewers can access the webcasts directly at http://theacc.co/OTFWatchLive. Live results will be available throughout the event on the championship website: http://theacc.co/OTFliveresults
For all the latest information on the Miami Hurricanes, follow the official Twitter feed, @HurricaneSports, or “Like Us” on Facebook at facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes. Follow @MiamiTrack on Twitter for specific news on UM track and field and cross country.
Women’s Entries
100m
Alyssa McClure
200m
Alyssa McClure
Jokira Jiles
Kelsey Balkwill
Elyse Houston
400m
Shannon Wright
Jasmyne King
800m
Taneisha Cordell
Alaine Tate
1500m
Lindsi Arrington
5000m
Taylor Votek
Lindsi Arrington
100m HH
Alexis Wright
4x100m
Alyssa McClure
Jokira Jiles
Jasmyne King
Kelsey Balkwill
4x400m
Shannon Wright
Taneisha Cordell
Alaine Tate
Jokira Jiles
Kelsey Balkwill
Jasmyne King
High Jump
Dakota Dailey-Harris
Long Jump
Samantha Williams
Elyse Houston
Triple Jump
Samantha Williams
Alexis Wright
Shot Put
Amber Monroe
Discus
Amber Monroe
Hammer
Lea Johnson
Men’s Entries
100m
Bassim El-Sabawi
200m
Bassim El-Sabawi
400m
Anthony Wolliston
Joseph Ryan
Davin Johnson
800m
Douglas Dourado
1500m
Gregory Kaczka
Luke Fontaine
5000m
Sean Pezzulo
Luke Fontaine
10000m
Sean Pezzulo
110m HH
Christian Cook
400m HH
Christian Cook
Garrett Nygren
4x400m
Garrett Nygren
Bassim El-Sabawi
Anthony Wolliston
Joseph Ryan
Davin Johnson
High Jump
John-Patrick Friday
Innocent Jacob
Long Jump
Timothy Richardson
John-Patrick Friday
Innocent Jacob
Triple Jump
Timothy Richardson
John-Patrick Friday
Richard Tema
Shot Put
Isaiah Simmons
Discus
Isaiah Simmons
Hammer
Isaiah Simmons
