@CanesTrack Welcomes 10 Impressive Newcomers
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Eight freshmen and two transfers make up the newest incoming group of Hurricanes on the University of Miami track and field team.
The group consists of seven women and three men, with athletes who will strengthen the Hurricanes in the sprints, hurdles, jumps, throws and multi events. Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem believes the new additions can help the Hurricanes continue their excellence in the ACC and on a national level.
“This is an impressive group of student-athletes that fills some important need for us,” Deem said. “We have a strong group of returners that are excited about adding the newcomers to our team as we look to fulfill our goals this year.”
Michelle Atherley | Sophomore | Multi Events | North Point, Fla. | Port Charlotte/Auburn
Atherley joins the Hurricanes after competing as a freshman at Auburn. The North Point, Fla., native returns to her home state following a strong 2016 season. She was the only freshman in the nation to qualify for the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships in the pentathlon and also anchored Auburn’s 4x100m relay at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Success on the track is not new to Athlerey, who was a indoor and outdoor All-American as a senior at Port Charlotte High School in 2015. She won back-to-back district and regional championships in the 100m and 300m hurdles was the 2015 Florida Class 3A state runner-up in the 100m hurdles as a senior. Atherley was also a 2015 Weightlifting Florida State Champion.
McKinly Brown | Freshman | Hurdles | Plantation, Fla. | Plantation American Heritage
Brown is a decorated hurdler, heading to college after winning five state titles over his final two years of high school track and field. A standout at American Heritage in Plantation, Fla., Brown was the Florida Class 2A state champion in the 110m and 300m hurdles, as well as the 4x400m relay, while helping win the 2016 Class 2A team title. Also a state champion as a junior in North Carolina, Brown finished seventh in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 New Balance Nationals with a personal-best time of 52.81 seconds.
Darlene Charles | Freshman | Jumps | Naples, Fla. | Golden Gate
Charles is a talented jumper from Naples, Fla., winning the 2016 Florida state long jump title and earning 10 varsity letters at Golden Gate High School. The 2015 Florida Relays long jump and triple jump champion, Charles was the 2015 Florida 3A Region 3 champion in both the long jump and triple jump and holds the Golden Gate school records in the long jump (20’ 1.5”), triple jump (41’ 6.5”), 400m (56.06) and on the 4x400m relay. Charles was named the Golden Gate Sprinter and Jumper of the Year in both 2014 and 2015, the 2015 Team MVP and was the 2015 Naples Daily News Track Athlete of the Year.
Kristina Knott | Junior | Sprints/Jumps | Orlando, Fla. | Colonial/Arkansas State
Knott joins the Hurricanes after spending two years at Arkansas State. The gifted sprinter was a national qualifier in the 60m and 100m in 2016, finishing 15th in the 60m at the NCAA Indoor Championships and 17th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She was the 2016 Sun Belt Outdoor Champion in the 100m and 200m, while also finishing fourth at the conference meet in the long jump. Knott also had a strong indoor season in 2016, finishing second in the 60m and 200m at the Sun Belt Indoor Championships.
Sherry Lubin | Freshman | Throws | Naples, Fla. | Naples
Lubin was a state champion in the shot put as a senior at Naples High School. She will look to continue her success in her home state, joining a talented group of Hurricanes throwers. Lubin holds the Naples school records in the shot put (45 feet-10.5 inches) and the discus (140-4). She graduated with five district championships, three regional championships and a state title. Lubin medaled at state four times in the past two seasons. In 2016, she was the state runner-up in the discus.
Peyton Russell| Freshman | Jumps | Tumwater, Wash. | Tumwater
Russell comes to Coral Gables from the Pacific Northwest, where she proved time and again to be one of the best jumpers in her home state of Washington. A three-time Class 2A triple jump state champion, Russell holds the Washington 2A state meet record in the triple jump (40 feet-8 inches). She was also the 2014 Class 2A state champion in the long jump and was the Class 2A state runner-up in the long jump a year later.
Tristan Schultheis| Freshman | Jumps | Titusville, Fla. | Astronaut
Schultheis is relatively new to high jump, picking up the event as a junior in high school, but he closed out his high school career as one of the best male high jumpers in Florida history. The Titusville, Fla., native is a two-time state champion in the high jump, clearing a personal-best height of seven feet-two inches that is a school record at Astronaut High School. Additionally, he was the 2016 AAU Club National Champion in the high jump. An outstanding athlete, Schultheis was also an all-state and All-Space Coast punter for Astronaut’s football team.
Alfreda Steele | Freshman | Sprints/Jumps | Dade City, Fla. | Pasco
Steele is one of the top sprinters in the country. The 2015 FHSAA 2A State Championship in both the women’s 100m and the women’s long jump, Steele was also selected a 2015 All-American in the women’s 100m by Track & Field News. A standout from Pasco High School in Dade City, Fla., Steele was a coveted talent that heads into her senior season with the third-fastest 100m time among returning high school women’s runners, 11.33 seconds.
Her personal-best 11.33 in the 100m was posted on a big stage as Steele took third place in the event at the 2015 Brooks Nationals. In addition to her blazing fast 100m time, Steele has a personal-best of 23.91 seconds in a 200m – an event in which she earned the FHSAA 2A State Championship as a sophomore in 2014 – and a personal-best mark of 19’2” in the long jump.
Brandon Taylor | Freshman | Sprints | Friendswood, Texas | Clear Brook
Taylor is another superb talent headed to Coral Gables. Hailing from Clear Brook High School in Friendswood, Texas. Taylor is an explosive short sprinter with range, winning a championship at the 2016 Brooks PR Invitational. Taylor also is the 2016 USATF Junior Olympic Champion in the 100m and won a gold medal at the 2016 World Junior Championships in the men’s 4x100m. Taylor is ranked No. 1 in America in the boys 60m dash with his time of 6.78. He won the Texas A&M Invitational, Carl Lewis Invitational and the McNeese Invitational. Taylor placed third in the 100m with a time of 10.40 seconds at the 2015 UIL 6A State Meet. That time ranks sixth among returning men’s 100m times in the country.
Erika Voyzey | Freshman | Jumps | Tyrone, Pa. | Tyrone Area Senior
Voyzey is a three-time Class AA state high jump champion in Pennsylvania and won the 2016 New Balance Outdoor National Championship in the high jump. Voyzey also finished third at the 2016 New Balance Indoor Nationals in the high jump. She is the first female athlete from Tyrone Area Senior High School to win two state championships and tied the PIAA record for women’s high jump when she jumped 5 feet-10 inches to secure her third state title and become the only three-time PIAA state champion in Tyrone Area High School’s history.
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