Seniors Shine at Hurricane Alumni Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Fifteen University of Miami track and field seniors were honored at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational and the Hurricanes made sure to shine on their final home meet.
Shakima Wimbley won the women’s 200m with a time of 22.67 seconds that ranks third in the world this season. Wimbley was joined by fellow senior Aiyanna Stiverne, junior Kristina Knott and sophomore Anna Runia on Miami’s winning 4x100m relay, posting a time of 44.17 seconds.
Stiverne also posted a time of 24.34 seconds in the women’s 200m, finishing 12th and giving Miami four of the top 15 finishers in the event.
Anthonia Moore was Miami’s top finisher in the women’s 400m, placing ninth with a time 56.71. Meridith Louisville won Heat 4 and was 17th overall in the event with a time of 58.13 seconds.
Nick Kaleel placed third overall in the men’s 5000m with a personal-best time of 15:38.47, while Jon Keller ran a personal-best time of 3:57.16 in the men’s 1500m.
Emily Gale finished third overall in the women’s pole vault with a mark of 4.00m, setting a new personal best and moving into sole possession of second place in the UM all-time top five.
Daniel Polinski placed third overall in the men’s shot put with a mark of 16.81m and was fourth in the men’s discus with a throw of 48.03m.
“I was very pleased with the effort,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “I just feel like we are in a really good spot to have a great second half of our season. We are kind of at the midpoint. I like the attitude and I like the efforts. We’ve had a lot of personal bests and a lot of wins.”
In addition to the seniors showcasing their talents at Cobb Stadium for the final time as Hurricanes, several Miami student-athletes excelled on the track and in the field events at the final home meet of the 2017 outdoor season.
Knott won the women’s 100m with a time of 11.57 seconds. Isaiah Taylor was the top finisher for the Canes in the men’s 100m with a time of 10.63 seconds, and he led all Hurricanes in the 200m with a time of 21.80 seconds.
Breon Mullings placed fifth overall in the men’s 400m with a personal-best time of 47.45 seconds that is fifth in UM history.
Anne Den Otter won the women’s 1500m run with a personal-best time of 4:31.74. The sophomore also won Heat 3 of the women’s 800m with a time of 2:17.20. Sean Hagert won Heat 2 of the men’s 1500m with a time of 4:06.31.
Stefani Kerrison placed fourth overall in the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 13.39 seconds and was third overall in the women’s long jump with a mark of 5.75m.
Samantha Gonzalez placed third overall in the women’s 400m hurdles with a season’s best time of 59.87 seconds.
“I really like the effort of Samantha Gonzalez today,” Deem said. “I think she is getting back to where she wants to be and where we need her to be.”
Sherry Lubin won the women’s shot put with a throw of 13.60m, while Darlene Charles won the women’s triple jump with a mark of 12.18m and Zakiya Rashid was second in the women’s discus with a mark of 51.01m.
The Hurricanes finished second in the women’s 4x400m relay as Trishelle Leacock, Brittny Ellis, Samantha Gonzalez and Erin Ford combined for a time of 3:38.31. Miami’s men placed third in the 4x400m relay, with Henri Delauze, McKinly Brown, Brandon Taylor and Ibrahim Dodo teaming up for a time of 3:11.46.
Amy Taintor finished second overall in the women’s heptathlon with a personal-best score of 5,182 points that ranks third all-time at Miami. She began the day with a mark of 5.80m in the long jump and posted a throw of 25.10m in the javelin before closing out the heptathlon with a time of 2:19.26 in the 800m.
Andreas Christodoulou finished third in the men’s decathlon with 6,936 points. The sophomore opened the final day of competition with a time of 15.31 seconds in the 110m hurdles and followed with a throw of 37.15m in the discus. Christodoulou cleared 4.20m in the pole vault and threw the javelin 55.61m before wrapping up the day with a time of 5:03.99 in the 1500m.
Some Hurricanes alumni also excelled on Saturday, as Alysha Newman won the women’s pole vault with a Canadian record mark of 4.71m that ranks third in the world this year. Devon Hill placed second overall in the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 13.66 seconds.
Following this weekend’s action, the Canes will travel to Waco, Texas, to compete at the Michael Johnson Invitational. To view the complete Miami track and field schedule for the 2017 season, click here.
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