Track Heads to Texas Tech for Red Raider Open
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program travels to Texas this week to compete at the Texas Tech Red Raider Open on Friday.
The Hurricanes will compete in a field filled with teams from the state of Texas, led by the No. 10 Texas Tech men’s team. Competition will begin at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center at 11 a.m. ET with the women’s weight throw, while running events kickoff at noon with the women’s 60m preliminaries.
The Hurricanes opened the season with a strong showing a week ago at the UAB Blazer Invitational and several of last weekend’s standouts will look to build off their impressive season-opening performances.
On the men’s side, freshman Hasani Knight will compete in both the long jump and triple jump a week after earning ACC Men’s Field Performer of the Week honors. The standout jumper earned a victory in his first competition as a Cane, winning the men’s triple jump at the UAB Blazer Invitational with a mark of 15.26m that ranks fourth all-time at Miami.
Other Hurricane men to watch include sprinters Myles Valentine and Isaiah Taylor, who earned top 10 finishes in the men’s 60m as a week ago. Valentine finished third in the men’s 60 m final with a time of 6.71 seconds, while Taylor just missed a spot in the 60m final, placing ninth in preliminaries with a time of 6.86 seconds.
Distance runner Nathan Kuck will look to build off his opening meet performance, in which he finished fifth in the men’s mile with a time of 4:16.99 that ranks fifth all-time in UM history.
In addition to Knight, Miami has a pair of throwers that will try to continue improving off their opening marks. Gian Piero Ragonesi opened his season with a second-place finish in the shot put, posting a mark of 18.35m, while freshman Michael Holdship placed 10th in the men’s weight throw with a mark of 14.83m that ranks fourth in UM history.
Miami’s women get excellent performances from their veterans and newcomers a week ago at UAB.
Alfreda Steele was impressive in her Hurricane debut finishing second in the women’s 60m final with a time of 7.35 seconds. The redshirt freshman Steele was second in preliminaries with a time of 7.38 seconds, while Kristina Knott finished fifth in the final with a time of 7.41 seconds. Freshman Symone Mason was ninth with a time of 7.56 seconds.
Miami had a trio of women excel in the 60m hurdles final led by freshman Tiara McMinn, who was the top collegiate finisher with a time of 8.49 seconds to place third. Junior Michelle Atherley was fourth with a time of 8.50 seconds, while fellow junior Samantha Gonzalez finished eighth with a time of 8.94 seconds.
Kayla Johnson was another freshman that impressed in her Miami debut, winning the women’s 600m with a time of 1:31.78 that ranks third all-time in UM history.
Anne den Otter set a school record in the women’s 1000m, placing second with a time of 2:52.83. The junior broke Latrice Shaw’s record of 2:53.88 that has stood since 1998.
The Canes also had several impressive performances in the women’s field events, as McMinn finished seventh in the women’s high jump with a mark of 1.64m, while senior Amy Taintor was 10th in the same event with a mark of 1.64m.
Freshman Debbie Ajagbe finished sixth in the women’s shot put with a throw of 14.17m, while sophomore Sherry Lubin was 12th with a mark of 13.24m. Zakiya Rashid was the top Hurricane in the women’s weight throw, placing sixth with a mark of 18.20m, while Ajagbe debuted with a throw of 16.33m to finish 12th.
Click HERE for live results of all the action at the Texas Tech Raider Open. A stream of the meet is also available for purchase HERE.
Following this weekend’s action at Texas Tech, the Canes will be back in action on Feb. 2-3 at the Power 5 Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Miami Entries
Men
60m: Myles Valentine, Isaiah Taylor, Brandon Taylor
200m: Brandon Taylor, Isaiah Taylor, Christopher Moree
400m: McKinly Brown, Luca Bhalla, Ibrahim Dodo
One Mile: Nathan Kuck, Sean Grossman, Sean Hagert
3000m: Nathan Kuck, Sean Grossman, Adam George
4x400m: McKinly Brown, Myles Valentine, Brandon Taylor, Ibrahim Dodo
Long Jump: Hasani Knight
Triple Jump: Hasani Knight
Shot Put: Gian Piero Ragonesi
Weight Throw: Michael Holdship
Women
60m: Kristina Knott, Symone Mason, Alfreda Steele, Anna Runia
200m: Kristina Knott, Symone Mason, Erin Ford, Samantha Gonzalez
800m: Kayla Johnson
One Mile: Anne den Otter
3000m: Anne den Otter
60m HH: Michelle Atherley, Tiara McMinn, Anna Runia, Samantha Gonzalez, Stefani Kerrison, Amy Taintor
4x400m: Samantha Gonzalez, Tiara McMinn, Anna Runia, Kayla Johnson, Erin Ford
High Jump: Tiara McMinn, Erika Voyzey, Kyra Maryland, Celine Thompson, Michelle Atherley
Long Jump: Amy Taintor, Stefani Kerrison, Darlene Charles
Triple Jump: Darlene Charles, Niara Hill, Peyton Russell
Shot Put: Debbie Ajagbe, Sherry Lubin, Zakiya Rashid
Weight Throw: Zakiya Rashid, Debbie Ajagbe, Sherry Lubin
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 @CanesTrack on Twitter for specific news on UM track and field and cross country. The program is also on Instagram.
