Miami Concludes Competition at the Hurricane Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami men’s and women’s track and field teams concluded competition at the 2016 Hurricane Invitational on Saturday inside Cobb Stadium.
The non-team-scoring event spanned two days and featured 12 schools (Boston University, College of the Bahamas, Bowdoin, FIU, Florida Memorial, George Mason, Keiser, Miami, Nova Southeastern, Palm Beach Atlantic, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Virginia Tech).
“I thought we competed well, and I think we have a great starting point to figure out where we go from here,” said head coach Amy Deem. “It’s early right now and with track and field you have to continue to build, and you have to be able to work through the season.”
Junior Gian Ragonesi highlighted the day for the men, posting a pair of winning performances in the shot put and discus. Ragonesi’s distance of 54.07 meters in the discus was the third-best throw in school history. His winning performance in the shot put of 18.52m ranks as the second-longest all-time program mark.
Senior John-Patrick Friday added a pair of strong performances in jump events as he finished runner-up in both the triple jump (14.93m) and long jump (7.24m).
In the 1,500-meter run, sophomore Sean Grossman finished second following a performance of 4:07.57.
Junior Amanda Gale opened the day for the Hurricane women on a high note as she won the pole vault, posting a height of 3.55 meters. Gale’s height served as a personal record and ranks as the second-best performance in school history.
Senior Precious Ogunleye posted a winning performance in the discus with a throw of 46.97m.
Sophomore Amy Taintor turned in a solid effort in the long jump as she posted a runner-up leap of 5.77m.
Miami also posted a strong showing in the running events as the 4×100-meter relay team consisting of Carolyn Brown, Erin Ford, Trishelle Leacock, and Ebony Morrison recorded a winning time of 44.98.
The Hurricanes also claimed the 4×400-meter relay thanks to the efforts of sophomore Destiny Washington, Ford, freshman Samantha Gonzalez, and freshman Anna Runia. Miami posted a winning time of 3:40.44.
Junior Aiyanna Stiverne won the 200-meter dash in a personal-best time of 23.33.
Freshman Anne Den Otter opened her outdoor career on a high note as she won the 800-meter run, posting a time of 2:16.60.
Junior Jamika Glades followed Otter’s winning performance with a runner-up finish in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 59.43.
“We didn’t run everybody this weekend, but the people that did compete got some great experiences,” Deem said. “Overall, we came out healthy, and we had some really good performances, so I’m excited about where we go for next week.”
Miami returns to action next Friday for the Hurricane Twilight Meet, beginning at 2:30 p.m. The meet will be aired on ESPN3.
For all the latest information on the Miami Hurricanes, follow the official Twitter feed, @MiamiHurricanes, or “Like Us” on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes. Follow @CanesTrack on Twitter for specific news on UM track and field and cross country. The program is also on Instagram.
