Sprinters Lead Canes at Notre Dame
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – One blink at the wrong time could have meant missing some of the best performances by the University of Miami track and field program on Saturday.
The Hurricanes had a strong showing in the sprints and hurdles, highlighting the depth both genders have in those event areas. In addition to the big day in the sprints, Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem was pleased with how the Canes performed on the site of the 2017 ACC Indoor Championships.
“I’m really excited about how we did,” Deem said. “We came in with a plan of some things we wanted to get done specifically at this track, because it is a great track to run certain events, so we were excited to come here and I was pleased that we executed the plan. I think we put ourselves in a great position three weeks out of ACCs. I think we have improved ourselves a little bit nationally this weekend. I’m just excited with how well the team responded. We challenged them and they really stepped up and got it done.”
Isaiah Taylor won the men’s 60m final with a time of 6.77 seconds that tied his personal best, a time that ranks fourth in UM history. Brandon Taylor also equaled his personal-best time in the 60m final, finishing third at 6.79 seconds.
Brandon Taylor (6.84) and Isaiah Taylor (6.81) each reached the finals after winning their respective semifinal heat. Myles Valentine (6.71) also won his Semifinal heat to earn a spot in the final, but did not race.
Carolyn Brown was fourth in the women’s 60m final with a time of 7.54 seconds. The sophomore advanced to the final after finishing second in Semifinal 4 of the women’s 60m with a season-best time of 7.53 seconds.
Ebony Morrison won Section 1 of the women’s 60m hurdles and finished third overall with a season-best time of 8.17 seconds. Michelle Atherley was fourth in Section 2 of the finals and sixth overall with a personal-best time of 8.33 seconds, while Stefani Kerrison was fourth in Section 1 and eighth overall with a time of 8.43 seconds.
Atherley advanced to the women’s 60m hurdles final after she won Semifinal 3 with a time of 8.41 seconds. Morrison (8.22) and Kerrison (8.41) earned two of the four at-large spots in the final based on their semifinal times.
“One of the things I am looking forward to next week is our dashes and our hurdles,” Deem said. “I think we ran well here, but we are looking forward to going to Clemson next weekend. It is a great place to sprint in the 60m and 60m hurdles. To do what we did here today, I think sets us up to run really well next weekend.”
While Miami had a strong showing in the shortest races of the day, the Canes also excelled in the 400m, 800m and 4x400m relays.
The women’s 4x400m relay team of Aiyanna Stiverne, Brittny Ellis, Atherley and Shakima Wimbley combined to win with a time of 3:31.88 that ranks second in school history and makes the Hurricanes the second-fastest team in the country.
Breon Mullings, Jaalen Jones, Henri Delauze and McKinly Brown combined to win Section 2 and place fourth overall in the men’s 4x400m relay with a time of 3:12.47.
Delazue was sixth overall in the men’s 400m with a time of 47.65 seconds. Erin Ford won Section 6 of the women’s 400m with a personal-best time of 55.90 seconds. Ibrahim Dodo won Section 3 of the men’s 400m with a personal-best time of 49.20 seconds.
Tom Gassner won Heat 2 and finished third overall in the men’s open 800m run with a personal-best time of 1:51.71 that ranks fifth in school history.
The Hurricanes also has standouts in the field events, excelling in both the jumps and throws.
Darlene Charles was fourth in the women’s triple jump with a personal-best mark of 12.48m, while Niara Hill finished eighth with an indoor-best jump of 12.07m.
Erika Voyzey was sixth in the women’s high jump, clearing 1.61m, while fellow freshman Tristan Schultheis made his Hurricane debut with an 11th-place finish in the men’s high jump (2.03m).
Daniel Polinski won Flight 1 and finished ninth overall in the men’s shot put with an indoor-best mark of 17.10m that moves him into third place in school history past Hurricanes and NFL legend Vince Wilfork.
Following this weekend’s trip to Notre Dame, the Hurricanes will travel to Clemson for the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 10-11. To view the complete Miami Track and Field schedule for the 2017 season, click here.
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