Gonzalez Named ACC Performer of the Week
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami’s Samantha Gonzalez was named ACC Women’s Outdoor Track Performer of the Week award, as announced by the conference office Tuesday.
Gonazlez turned in the fastest 400m hurdles time in the ACC this past weekend, winning the event at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational with a personal-best time of 57.89 seconds. The junior won the event by nearly two full seconds, posting an ACC-leading time that ranks fourth in the NCAA East region and 11thin the country this year.
“I am really excited for Samantha to receive this honor because it is positive reinforcement for all the hard work she has put in,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said.
Gonzalez won the first ACC Performer of the Week honor of her career and is the fifth different Hurricane to earn an ACC weekly honor this year. Miami freshman Kayla Johnson has earned two ACC Performer of the Week honors, while freshman Hasani Knight, junior Michelle Atherley and freshman Kevin Arreaga also have picked up ACC Performer of the Week honors in 2018.
“Samantha struggled a little bit as a freshman with some injuries from high school and she’s just really coming into her own and being the athlete that she knows she can be and that we know that she can be,” Deem said following Saturday’s race. “She’s just going to continue to get better with each race because she gets more and more confident and cleans up more things technically.”
A Hurricane has earned an ACC Performer of the Week honor in four consecutive weeks. Johnson opened the outdoor season with her first selection on March 20, followed by Arreaga on March 27 and Johnson again on April 3 and Gonzalez rounding out the quartet on April 10.
Gonzalez and the Hurricanes will host their final regular season meet of the 2018 season at Cobb Stadium this Saturday, as Miami is set to compete at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational on April 14. To view the complete Miami Track and Field schedule for the 2018 season, click here.
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