Track Opens Hurricane Alumni Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The 2016 Hurricane Alumni Invitational got off to a great start as several Canes excelled on Day 1 at Cobb Stadium.
Miami had decathlete Andreas Christodoulou, heptathletes Stefani Kerrison and Amy Taintor and throwers Precious Ogunleye and Tiffany Okieme in action on Friday and all six shined on the first day of the final home meet of the season.
“Andreas, Stef and Amy had a solid day today and Precious and Tiffany had a season-bests in the hammer,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “It was a good day and I’m looking forward to some great performances tomorrow from our current athletes and alumni like Devon Hill, who is trying to reach the U.S. Olympic Trials.”
Christodoulou won the decathlon 100m with a time of 11.13 seconds and the decathlon long jump with a personal-best mark of 7.05m. The freshman finished second in the decathlon high jump (1.86m) and won the 400m dash with a time of 51.25 seconds to close out the day in first place through five events with 3,658 points.
Kerrison opened the day with a victory in the heptathlon 100m hurdles, posting a time of 13.73 seconds. The sophomore followed that with a season-best 1.59m in the high jump and closed out her day with a victory in the heptathlon 200m, posting a time of 25.67 seconds. Through four events, Kerrison is in second place with 3,114 points.
Taintor ran a season-best in the heptathlon 100m hurdles, posting a time of 15.42 seconds. The sophomore cleared 1.62m in the high jump, had a mark of 10.70m in the shot put and finished the day with a 200m time of 26.21 seconds. Taintor is in fifth place with 2,900 points through four events.
Ogunleye finished fourth in the women’s hammer throw with a season-best mark of 58.80m, while Okieme placed ninth with a throw of 52.82m.
“As a team, we have a lot to get done,” Deem said. “The season seems like it just started, but after this weekend we only have two more regular season meets. We reminded the team that it’s time to get busy and focused on getting ready for ACC outdoors.”
Following Friday’s events, the Hurricanes hosted an alumni reception in the Schwartz Center for Athletic Excellence. Alumni dating back to the 1950s were in attendance at the reception, including national champion Lauryn Williams, All-Americans Charlette Greggs and Devon Hill and 1956 graduate Gerald Utter, as well as former coach Mike Ward.
“This is always a special weekend for us,” Deem said. “After 26 years here, to see all of our alumni come back and meet their families is always special to me. To have a great competition on top of it is exciting. The meet is pretty big this year. “
Saturday’s action begins at 9 a.m., with the heptathlon long jump. Field events begin at 10:15 a.m., with the men’s high jump and running events open at 12:30 p.m., with the unseeded section of the women’s 1,500-meter run.
The Hurricane Alumni Invitational will be broadcast live on ESPN3 Saturday from 3-6 p.m., featuring exciting seeded sections of the 4×100-meter relay, 1,500-meter run, 100-meter and 110-meter hurdles, 100-meters, 400-meters, 800-meters and the 400-meter hurdles on the track and several exciting field events in the throws and jumps. The Voice of the Miami Hurricanes, Joe Zagacki, will handle play-by-play duties, while Olympic gold medalist, 2004 NCAA 100m champion and UM Sports Hall of Fame member Lauryn Williams will provide analysis.
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.
