Michelle Atherley Wins Pentathlon at ACC Indoors
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Michelle Atherley’s championship-winning performance in the women’s pentathlon led the University of Miami track and field program on the opening day of the 2017 ACC Indoor Championships.
The Hurricanes earned two medals on the first of three days of competition at the Loftus Sports Center on the University of Notre Dame campus, but none was bigger than Atherley’s gold in a competitive pentathlon field.
“I am really pleased with how we started,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “I think it was a great day for us and a great way to start off the championships. It was very inspirational for the rest of the group that was out there supporting. They set the tone for the weekend and hopefully tomorrow we can have some more great performances like we did today and advance to the finals on Saturday.”
Atherley was Miami’s first ACC indoor champion in 2017, winning the women’s pentathlon with a school record and ACC Championship record score of 4,281 points. The sophomore began the day with a victory in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.35 seconds and followed with a season-best mark of 1.76m to win the high jump with a mark that placed her fourth in UM history. Atherley was second in the shot put with a throw of 11.76m and finished fourth in the long jump with a mark of 5.76m. The standout sophomore, who led the pentathlon through all five events, closed out her title with a personal-best time of 2:15.86 in the 800m.
“It was a really, really great experience,” Atherley said. “I came in and told myself, ‘Alright, I can do this.’ I joined this team that was already a winning team and I just wanted to come in and be able to add points to help replace the seniors that we lost from last year. I came in with the mindset of ‘I want to win’ and that’s what I did. It was fantastic to succeed with my teammate, Amy [Taintor], because you work with these people day in and day out all season and to see her do great was awesome. Our confidence is way up and I am so excited for her. It’s the greatest to have your teammate along with you. That’s probably better than winning by yourself.”
Amy Taintor also had an outstanding performance in the women’s pentathlon, placing fourth with a personal-best score of 3,961 points that ranks third in UM history. Taintor’s highlights of the day were a third place finish in the long jump, posting a mark of 5.84m, and an indoor-best throw of 11.41m in the shot put. The junior opened her day with a time of 9.15 seconds in the 60m hurdles and finished fourth in the high jump with a mark of 1.67m. Taintor wrapped up her career-best pentathlon with a time of 2:18.73 in the 800m.
“I’m really happy with how I performed today,” Taintor said. “My main goal was to get higher than fifth place, which is what I was coming in at. I knew it would be difficult and that I would have to execute everything, but I wanted it so bad. I’m so emotional because Coach [Keith] Herston has told me since the beginning that I have it in me to be a great multi and it just feels amazing to get a PR and score points for my team, finally.”
“Obviously the main goal is to be a champion, but I’m so proud of Michelle for earning that title,” Taintor said. “She works so hard and pushes me every day. I’m so thankful for that girl. And the support my teammates gave me during the pentathlon kept me motivated and the way they celebrated with me afterwards was honestly indescribable. I’m so happy I could score points for them. This is really a family and we are destined to do great this weekend. I’m excited for the rest of us to compete and just put everything on the line.”
Carlos Mangum won Miami’s first medal of the weekend, earning a silver in the men’s weight throw with a school record mark of 21.42m. The senior repeated as the ACC silver medalist in the event and broke his own UM record of 21.32m, set at the 2016 ACC Indoor Championships.
“I am just coming off an injury, but I know this is my last season and my last chance to compete at ACC Indoors, so I gave it my all because I didn’t want to have any regrets,” Mangum said. “I want to make nationals, so I gave it my best shot. My teammates came and supported me and that helped a lot. I gave it everything I had and this is one of the best feelings I’ve had. I never thought that I would be competing at this level and coming out with two silver medals.”
Karyna Armstrong finished fifth in the women’s weight throw with a season-best throw of 18.71m, while Zakiya Rashid placed sixth with a mark of 18.39m.
“I am really proud with how Michelle and Amy competed today,” Deem said. “They really set the tone for the meet and then Carlos had the PR and the school record and the girls came back to score seven points for us in the weight throw. It was a great start to the meet.”
Andreas Christodoulou also began competition on Thursday, finishing the day in seventh place with 2,842 points after four events in the men’s heptathlon. Christodoulou opened the day with a time of 7.22 seconds in the 60m and posted a long jump of 6.80m. The sophomore had a mark of 12.03m in the shot put and closed out the opening day of the heptathlon with a mark of 1.84m in the high jump.
Through one day of competition, the defending ACC champion women’s team is in second place with 22 points, while Miami’s men are tied for fifth place with eight points.
Friday’s action begins at 11 a.m., with the men’s heptathlon 60m hurdles, while the men’s high jump and women’s unseeded 5000m begin at noon to open the field events and running events, respectively. Championship Saturday kicks off at 11 a.m., with the women’s shot put and women’s triple jump, while the running events begin at noon with the women’s 60m hurdles final.
ACC Network Extra will live stream action the final two days, with former Olympic decathlon gold medalist Dan O’Brien serving as color analyst, reprising the role he first filled at the 2015 ACC Outdoor Championships. He will be joined by veteran ESPN play-by-play announcer Shawn Kenney. Coverage will air from 3:30 p.m. through 7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 24, and from noon until the meet’s conclusion (approximately 4 p.m.) on Saturday, February 25.
Following the ACC Indoor Championships, qualifying Hurricanes that rank in the top 16 in the NCAA in their events will travel to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, on March 10-11. To view the complete Miami Track and Field schedule for the 2017 season, click here.
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