Pair of Canes Ready for USA Championships
DES MOINES, Iowa – Two University of Miami student-athletes will represent the Hurricanes at the U.S. Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships
Tequille Jackson will compete in the men’s 110m hurdles, while Dakota Dailey-Harris is set to participate in the women’s high jump.
Jackson placed fourth in the 110m hurdles at the 2013 Miami Invitational, running the race in 14.51 seconds to qualify for the USA Championships. The freshman from Dallas had a successful first year in Coral Gables. In addition to his collegiate best in the 110m hurdles, he placed second in the 400m hurdles at the Miami Invitational, posting a personal-best 58.64.
Dailey-Harris has been equally impressive in her first year as a Hurricane. The freshman from Providence, R.I., cleared 1.78m at the New Mexico Classic to qualify for this weekend’s USA Championships. Dailey-Harris won the high jump twice during the 2013 outdoor season, posting marks of 1.72m at the Hurricane Invitational and 1.65m at the Miami Invitational.
The U.S. Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships will host some of the top junior athletes in the country, ages 16-19, with the top finishers representing the red, white and blue Aug. 23-25 in Medellin, Colombia. This year’s Team USA squad will look to best the 72 medals won by Team USA at the 2011 Pan Am Junior Athletics Championships in Miramar, Fla.
While Jackson and Dailey-Harris will represent the current Canes at the USA Championships, there are several athletes with Miami connections competing in the senior division.
Olympic Gold Medalist Lauryn Williams will compete in both the women’s 100m and 200m dash. Williams, who won the NCAA title in the women’s 100m dash while at Miami in 2003, is tied for the ninth-fastest women’s 100m time in the United States (11.13 seconds) this year. The three-time Olympian’s 200m time of 22.58 seconds ranks eighth in the country.
A pair of former Hurricane hurdlers will compete in the women’s 400m hurdles. Five-time All-American T’erea Brown and 12-time All-American Dominique Darden will both run for the right to represent their country at the World Championships in August. Brown’s time of 54.21 seconds ranks fourth in the country this year, while Darden’s time of 55.70 seconds is ninth in the United States.
Former Hurricanes All-American Devon Hill is among the competitors in the men’s 110m hurdles. Hill, who was the ACC Indoor Champion in the 60m hurdles in 2011, currently has the 11th-fastest time in the country in the 110m hurdles at 13.38 seconds.
The final athlete with Miami connections is hurdler Johnny Dutch. While Dutch did not run for the Hurricanes, he trains with Miami director of track and field and cross country Amy Deem in Miami. Dutch, who will run the men’s 400m hurdles, currently has the second-fastest time in the country at 48.02 seconds.
Williams, Brown, Darden, Hill and Dutch will all compete in the 2013 Championships for the coveted spots to represent Team USA at the IAAF World Championships Aug. 10-18 in Moscow, Russia. The USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships are also the final stop of the 2013 Outdoor USATF Championship Series, following stops at the Drake Relays and Penn Relays in April, the adidas Grand Prix in May and the Prefontaine Classic in June.
Hosted by Greater Des Moines and Drake University, Iowa looks to continue long and storied legacy as a track and field destination. Drake Stadium has once before played host to the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2010, three times the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2008, 2011, and 2012, and 104 editions of the Drake Relays.
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