Canes Earn 27 All-ACC Outdoor Track & Field Honors
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program earned 27 All-ACC honors following the 2018 ACC Outdoor Championships.
Sixteen different student-athletes combined for 22 First Team All-ACC selections and five Second Team All-ACC honors. Miami’s women’s team earned 21 All-ACC awards, including 17 spots on the All-ACC first team, en route to being crowned ACC Women’s Outdoor Champions. The Hurricane men had six All-ACC honorees with five claiming positions on the All-ACC first team.
ACC Women’s Track MVP Symone Mason led all Hurricanes with four First Team All-ACC honors, as the freshman won gold medals in the 200m, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m. Mason won the 400m final with a collegiate-best time of 51.53 seconds that is second-fastest in UM history, while her 200m time of 23.01 seconds ranks fifth in school history.
Michelle Atherley also tallied four All-ACC honors en route to being selected the ACC Women’s Field MVP. The junior won gold medals in the women’s high jump (1.74m), women’s heptathlon (5.793 points) and women’s 4x400m, earning First Team All-ACC in each event, while finishing fifth in the women’s 100m hurdles (13.21) to tally a Second Team All-ACC honor.
Mason and Atherley were joined by Anna Runia and Samantha Gonzalez on Miami’s ACC champion 4x400m relay that earned First Team All-ACC accolades with a time of 3:32.40.
Gonzalez was the ACC champion in the women’s 400m hurdles with a personal-best time of 56.77 seconds to get a First Team All-ACC award, while Runia finished fourth in the same event with a time of 57.98 seconds and received Second Team All-ACC recognition.
The women’s 4x100m relay team of Kristina Knott, Alfreda Steele, Mason and Tiara McMinn won gold with a season-best time of 43.48 seconds that is second-fastest in UM history and garnered each student-athlete a First Team All-ACC distinction.
McMinn also earned First Team All-ACC honors in the women’s 100m hurdles, finishing third with a personal-best time of 13.10 seconds that gave the freshman a bronze medal in her first ACC Outdoor Championships.
In addition to Atherley, the Canes also had several women standout in the field events.
Freshman Debbie Ajagbe’s personal-best mark of 16.22m earned her a bronze medal in the shot put and moved her into third place on UM’s all-time list. In addition to her first team all-conference selection in the shot put, Ajagbe was also named Second Team All-ACC with a sixth-place finish in the women’s hammer with a personal-best mark of 60.98m that ranks fourth in UM history.
A pair of medalists in the jumps earned First Team All-ACC for their performances. Celine Thompson was the runner-up to Atherley in the women’s high jump, taking home a silver medal after clearing 1.69m
Niara Hill closed out her final meet at Cobb Stadium with a bronze medal in the women’s triple jump. The senior, who entered the meet ranked 10th in the ACC in the event this season, posted a personal-best mark of 12.81m to finish third and secure a First Team All-ACC honor.
Junior Zakiya Rashid was the final woman to garner All-ACC honors, earning a spot on the second team in the discus after she finished fourth with a throw of 53.60m
Miami’s men earned five medals at the ACC Outdoor Championships, led by senior Gian Piero Ragonesi’s pair of bronze medals in the throws.
Ragonesi took home a bronze in the men’s shot put with a mark of 18.50m and was third in the discus with a mark of 57.62m, receiving First Team All-ACC honors in each event.
Andreas Christodoulou was a silver medalist in the decathlon, earning First Team All-ACC after scoring 7,271 points in the event, while Kevin Arreaga secured a silver medal and First Team All-ACC honors in the men’s hammer throw with a mark of 68.90m.
McKinly Brown took home the bronze medal in the men’s 400m hurdles with a personal-best time of 50.78 seconds that is second in school history. The sophomore received First Team All-ACC honors for his performance.
Myles Valentine was the final Hurricane male to earn All-ACC recognition, snaring a spot on the second team after finishing fourth in the men’s 100m final with a time of 10.39 seconds.
The 2018 All-ACC teams are determined by the order of finish at the ACC Outdoor 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.
Qualifying Hurricanes will prepare to compete at the NCAA East Preliminary in Tampa, Fla., on May 24-26. To view the complete Miami Track and Field schedule for the 2018 season, click here.
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