@CanesTrack Shines at Hurricane Collegiate Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program shined in a talented field at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational.
The No. 16 Hurricane women were one of five ranked teams competing at Cobb Stadium for the second of three home meets this outdoor season, joined by No. 1 Florida men, No. 6 Virginia men, No. 6 Florida women and No. 14 Harvard women. In addition to the five ranked teams, the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational featured student-athletes from Kansas State, Clemson, UConn, FIU, FAU, USF, Southeastern Louisiana and Bethune-Cookman.
“We have been training really hard and, in some ways, it showed this weekend,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “At the same time, they kind of powered through and had a lot of season and personal bests. For the fact of the way we have been training to get ready for later in the season and them to come out and still do as well as they did, I was really pleased. It was nice to have a really great competition with Florida, Clemson, Kansas State, who hasn’t been down here in years, Connecticut and so many other schools. I think it was a good opener for everybody and a great way to start the outdoor season.”
Ebony Morrison won the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 13.21 seconds, while Michelle Atherley finished third overall with a time of 13.66 seconds.
Brittny Ellis was second in the women’s 200m with a personal best time of 23.36 seconds, leading a trio of Hurricanes in the top 10. Carolyn Brown was fifth with a time of 23.64 seconds, while Trishelle Leacock was 10th at 24.20 seconds. Erin Ford finished 11th with a time of 24.23 seconds.
On the men’s side, Henri Delauze was fifth in the 200m with a time of 21.33 seconds, while Brandon Taylor finished seventh with a time of 21.58 seconds.
Brandon Taylor finished fourth in the men’s 100m with a time of 10.66 seconds, while Breon Mullings placed fourth in the men’s 400m with a time of 47.78 seconds.
Anna Runia finished fourth in the women’s 400m hurdles with a time of 59.52, while Samantha Gonzalez placed seventh with a time of 1:00.30. McKinly Brown finished fourth in the men’s 400m hurdles with a time of 52.97 seconds.
Gabrielle Hesslau was second in the women’s 3000m with a personal best time of 9:41.40 that ranks second all-time in UM history. On the men’s side, Sean Grossman was third in the men’s 3000m with a time of 8:38.02. Michael Miano (8:53.25), Jonathan Keller (8:54.41) and Sean Hagert (8:58.84) finished fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, with personal best times.
In addition to the individual success Miami had on the track, the Hurricanes also had a good day in the relays.
Miami’s men’s 4x100m relay team of Isaiah Taylor, Myles Valentine, Brandon Taylor and Breon Mullings finished third with a time of 40.20 seconds that ranks fourth in UM history.
The Hurricanes finished second in the women’s 4x100m relay, as the quartet of Carolyn Brown, Kristina Knott, Ebony Morrison and Anna Runia combined for a time of 44.17 seconds. Miami’s Stefani Kerrison, Trishelle Leacock, Erin Ford and Brittny Ellis teamed up to finish seventh with a time of 45.62 seconds.
Miami’s men’s 4x400m relay finished second, as Henri Delauze, McKinly Brown, Breon Mullings and Ibrahim Dodo combined to run a season best time of 3:10.49.
The Canes ran two 4x400m relays on the women’s side, finishing sixth and ninth, respectively. Samantha Gonzalez, Anna Runia, Erin Ford and Kristina Knott combined to run a time of 3:45.12, while Trishelle Leacock, Carolyn Brown, Amy Taintor and Anthonia Moore posted a time of 3:47.34
The Hurricanes also had strong performances in the field events, with several throwers and jumpers posting some of their best marks of the season.
Carlos Mangum finished third in the men’s hammer throw with a season-best throw of 64.59m. Daniel Polinski was seventh in the men’s discus with a mark of 48.38m and eighth in the men’s shot put with a throw of 15.56m.
Zakiya Rashid finished seventh in the women’s discus with a throw of 47.71m and seventh in the shot put with a mark of 14.24m. Sherry Lubin was sixth in the shot put with a mark of 14.56m.
Emily Gale won the women’s pole vault with a season best mark of 3.90m. The senior has now won the women’s pole vault in both of her outdoor meets in 2017.
Andreas Christodoulou finished third in the men’s long jump with a mark of 6.95m, while Stefani Kerrison finished third in the women’s long jump with a mark of 6.01m. Michelle Atherley was seventh at 5.96m, while Darlene Charles placed ninth with a mark of 5.80m, giving the Canes three top 10 finishers in the women’s long jump.
Following this weekend’s action, the Canes will travel to Gainesville, Fla., to compete at Florida Relays from March 29 – April 1. To view the complete Miami track and field schedule for the 2017 season, click here.
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 @MiamiTrack on Twitter for specific news on UM track and field and cross country. The program is also on Instagram.
