Track Heads North to Power 5 Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program will open the month of February at the Power 5 Invitational hosted by the University of Michigan.
The Hurricanes will compete in an invitation-only field that consists of Baylor, Duke, Indiana, Louisville, Minnesota, N.C. State, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Virginia and the host Michigan Wolverines. There are seven ranked teams set to compete this weekend, with the men’s field led by No. 17 Stanford, No. 22 Indiana and No. 24 Virginia, while the women’s side featuring No. 11 Minnesota, No. 16 Stanford, No. 17 Michigan and No. 19 Baylor.
Competition will begin at the University of Michigan Indoor Track Building at 11:30 a.m. ET with the women’s pentathlon 60m hurdles, while running events kick off at 4:15 p.m. ET with the women’s 60m hurdles preliminaries. The weight throw is the only field event on Friday, beginning with the men at 5:30 p.m. ET. Saturday’s action kicks off at 11 a.m. with the women’s high jump and the running events begin at noon with the women’s 60m hurdles final.
All-American and defending ACC champion Michelle Atherley and All-ACC performer Amy Taintor will compete in their first pentathlon of the 2018 season. Freshman Tiara McMinn leads a talented trio in the women’s 60m hurdles, while Kristina Knott, Symone Mason and Alfreda Steele are three to watch in the short sprints and freshman Kayla Johnson is a standout to watch in the mid-distance.
The Hurricane women also have several talented competitors in the field events, as throwers Debbie Ajagbe, Sherry Lubin and Zakiya Rashid are set to compete in the shot put and weight throw. Miami also will look to have strong performances by Darlene Charles, Stefani Kerrison and Erika Voyzey in the jumps.
On the men’s side, the Canes will look for big performances in the short sprints from Myles Valentine, Isaiah Taylor and Brandon Taylor. Nathan Kuck and Sean Grossman lead Miami in the distance events, while the Hurricanes have two 4x400m relay teams scheduled to run in Michigan.
Miami has talented men in the field events, as freshman jumper Hasani Knight will look to build off a strong start to his inaugural collegiate season and senior Gian Piero Ragonesi leads a gifted group of throwers that also features Michael Holdship and Kevin Arreaga, whom will make his Miami debut in the weight throw.
Click HERE for live results of all the action at the Power 5 Invitational. The complete meet schedule is available HERE.
Following this weekend’s action at Michigan, the Canes will head to Clemson for the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 9-10.
Miami Entries
Men
60m: Myles Valentine, Isaiah Taylor, Brandon Taylor, Hasani Knight
200m: Brandon Taylor, Isaiah Taylor, Breon Mullings
400m: McKinly Brown, Luca Bhalla
600m: Henri Delauze, Ibrahim Dodo
3000m: Nathan Kuck, Sean Grossman, Sean Hagert, Adam George
5000m: Nathan Kuck, Sean Grossman, Sean Hagert, Adam George
4x400m: McKinly Brown, Myles Valentine, Brandon Taylor, Ibrahim Dodo, Breon Mullings, Henri Delauze, Jaalen Jones, Luca Bhalla
Long Jump: Hasani Knight
Triple Jump: Hasani Knight
Shot Put: Gian Piero Ragonesi
Weight Throw: Michael Holdship, Kevin Arreaga, Gian Piero Ragonesi
Women
60m: Kristina Knott, Symone Mason, Alfreda Steele, Carolyn Brown
200m: Kristina Knott, Symone Mason, Alfreda Steele, Carolyn Brown
400m: Anna Runia, Erin Ford, Samantha Gonzalez
800m: Kayla Johnson
One Mile: Anne den Otter
60m HH: Tiara McMinn, Samantha Gonzalez, Stefani Kerrison, Anna Runia
4x400m: Samantha Gonzalez, Tiara McMinn, Anna Runia, Kayla Johnson, Erin Ford, Symone Mason
High Jump: Tiara McMinn, Erika Voyzey, Kyra Maryland, Celine Thompson
Long Jump: Stefani Kerrison, Darlene Charles
Triple Jump: Darlene Charles, Niara Hill
Shot Put: Debbie Ajagbe, Sherry Lubin, Zakiya Rashid
Weight Throw: Zakiya Rashid, Debbie Ajagbe, Sherry Lubin
Pentathlon: Michelle Atherley, Amy Taintor
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.
