Canes Earn 13 All-ACC Indoor Track & Field Honors
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program had 12 different student-athletes earn 13 All-ACC honors following the 2018 ACC Indoor Championships.
Seniors Gian Piero Ragonesi and Amy Taintor, junior Michelle Atherley and freshmen Kevin Arreaga and Tiara McMinn led the Hurricanes with first team All-ACC honors, while Atherley, fellow junior Anna Runia, sophomores Celine Thompson, Myles Valentine and Erika Voyzey, and freshmen Kayla Johnson, Symone Mason and Alfreda Steele received second team All-ACC honors.
Atherley and Taintor finished second and third, respectively, in the women’s pentathlon, scoring 14 total points for the Miami women’s team score. Atherley fell just short of defending her 2017 ACC championship in the pentathlon, finishing 16 points behind Louisville’s Holly Hankenson.
Atherley began the day with a win in the 60m hurdles, posting a season-best time of 8.37 seconds. The junior cleared 1.60m in the high jump before winning the shot put with a season-best throw of 12.18m. Atherley turned in a season-best mark of 5.84m to finish second in the long jump and won the 800m with a personal-best time of 2:14.26 to close out her silver medal performance with a season-best total score of 4,159 points.
Taintor opened the women’s heptathlon with a personal-best time of 8.93 seconds in the 60m hurdles. The senior tied her career-best in the women’s high jump with a winning mark of 1.69m and posted a season-best in the shot put of 10.84m. Taintor continued her career-best day by finishing third in the long jump with a mark of 5.78m and was fourth in the 800m with a time of 2:19.39 to wrap up a bronze medal in the pentathlon with a personal-best score of 3,967 points that ranks third in UM history.
Arreaga earned a bronze medal at his first ACC Indoor Championships and scored six points for the Hurricane men. The freshman’s first attempt in the men’s weight throw was measured at a personal-best 20.28m. His next throw was even better, coming in at 20.75m to set a new personal-best and put him at second all-time in Miami history.
Ragonesi led the Hurricane men on Saturday, earning a bronze medal in the shot put with a throw of 18.28m. On his final throw, the senior secured his third place finish and scored six points for the Miami men.
McMinn finished third in the women’s 60m hurdles final with a personal best time of 8.17 seconds, earning the freshman a bronze medal in her first ACC Indoor Championships. McMinn reached the final by running a then-personal-best time of 8.22 seconds to win Heat 2 of qualifying heats and automatically advance to the final.
Steele was second in section 1 and finished fourth overall in the women’s 200m final with a personal-best time of 23.49 seconds. The freshman, who ran a then-personal-best time of 23.51 seconds to qualify for the final, scored five points for the Hurricane women.
The Canes closed out the meet with a bronze medal in the women’s 4x400m. Johnson anchored a relay that was led off by Mason followed by Atherley and Runia to win section 3 and finish third overall with a season-best time of 3:35.23.
Valentine finished fourth in the men’s 60m final with a time of 6.72 seconds. Valentine, who entered the final with the third-fastest qualifying time, scored five points for the Miami men.
Thompson picked up five points for the Hurricane women, finishing fourth in the high jump with a personal-best mark of 1.72m. Voyzey added four points for the women, finishing fifth in the high jump with a mark of 1.69m.
The 2018 All-ACC teams are determined by the order of finish at the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The medalists in each individual event (gold, silver, bronze) earn first-team All-ACC honors, along with the four members of the first-place team in each relay. Those finishing fourth through sixth in each individual event are recognized as second-team All-ACC, along with members of each relay team placing second and third.
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 9-10. To view the complete Miami Track and Field schedule for the 2018 season, click here.
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