No. 17 @CanesTrack Starts Strong at Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Miami track and field team got off to a strong start on Day 1 at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet at the University of Kentucky.
The Hurricanes had several standout performances on the track and in the field events, including two victories, seven top 3 finishes and two school records.
“We had a very strong showing from our field event athletes tonight,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “Both the men and women’s weight throwers, our high jumpers and Alysha [Newman] in the pole vault performed extremely well.”
For the second straight week, Alysha Newman was the winner of the women’s pole vault. A week after winning the event at the Nittany Lion Challenge, Newman cleared 4.27m to earn the top mark at the McCravy Memorial Meet.
Tiffany Okieme had another stellar showing in the weight throw, winning with a season-best mark of 20.60m, while Precious Ogunleye placed third with a mark of 19.96m.
On the men’s side, Carlos Mangum placed second in the weight throw with a season-best mark of 19.83m, while Gian Piero Ragonesi finished eighth with a personal-best mark of 18.05m that ranks second in Miami history.
Sophomore David Njoku finished second in the men’s high jump with a personal-best mark of 2.09m that ranks second in UM history, while senior Dakota Dailey-Harris placed third in the women’s high jump with a personal-best mark of 1.80m that ranks second in UM history.
Sophomore Amy Taintor placed second in the women’s pentathlon with a score of 3,428 points. Taintor won the long jump with a mark of 5.53m and placed second in the shot put with a mark of 9.93m. She closed out the pentathlon with a second place finish in the 800m with a time of 2:29.28.
Miami also had success on the track in both sprints and distance races, setting two school records.
Thomas Gassner tied the school record in the men’s 600-yard run, posting a time of 1:12.76 to place eighth. The freshman Gassner tied Brian Laskowski, who ran 1:12.76 on January 14, 2009. Sophomore Zack Garland moved into fourth place on Miami’s all-time Top 5 with a time of 1:14.35.
Gabrielle Hesslau placed fourth in the women’s 5000m with a time of 17:27.67, setting a new school record. Hesslau broke Alina Pinto’s previous record time of 17:29.40 by nearly two full seconds. Pinto’s record stood for nearly 20 years, running the record time on February 27, 1997.
Destiny Washington impressed in her Hurricanes debut, placing 13th in the women’s 200m dash with a time of 24.79 seconds. Carolyn Brown finished 15th with a time of 24.84 seconds, while Jamika Glades placed 19th (24.95) and Brittny Ellis finished 22nd (25.03).
In the men’s 200m dash, Breon Mullings (22.28) and Jaalen Jones (22.29) finished 17th and 18th, respectively, while Henri Delauze placed 23rd (22.53).
The No. 17 Hurricanes are one of 10 ranked teams (four men, six women) scheduled to compete at Nutter Field House on Friday and Saturday. Baylor, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Houston, Kentucky and Virginia join Miami as ranked team in a field that also includes Harvard, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and WKU.
Saturday’s competition is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET with the men’s heptathlon, while the women’s shot put open field events at 11 a.m. and the women’s 60m hurdles will start off the running events at noon. The meet will be broadcast on SEC Network+ on WatchESPN on Saturday from noon until the conclusion.
Following this weekend’s action in Kentucky, the Hurricanes will return to Coral Gables to prepare for the Armory Track Invitational on Feb. 5-6 in New York.
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