Miami Women Open Up at NCAA Championships
EUGENE, Ore. – Four members of the University of Miami women’s team were in action at the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday.
One day after Miami’s Kevin Arreaga opened competition at Historic Hayward Field, the Hurricanes had four entries in the women’s semifinals at the NCAA Championships. Among Miami’s qualifiers were two ACC individual champions, an ACC bronze medalist and an ACC champion relay team, but none were able to turn in the performances they had hoped for.
“It’s huge to have this experience this year and that was my goal,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “We are a young team, so I wanted to get as many of them here as we could, but we’ve got to get better.”
Tiara McMinn was sixth in Heat 2 of the women’s 100m hurdles semifinals with a time of 13.31 seconds. The freshman finished 19th overall in the 100m hurdles at the NCAA Championships, closing out an impressive debut season as a Hurricane. McMinn was the bronze medalist in the women’s 100m hurdles at the ACC Outdoor Championships and anchored Miami’s ACC champion 4x100m relay team, as it posted the second-fastest time in school history. The Miami native was named First Team All-ACC in both events and qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary in both the 100m hurdles and the women’s 4x100m relay.
Samantha Gonzalez finished sixth in Heat 1 of the women’s 400m hurdles semifinals with a time of 58.90 seconds. The junior, who was 17thoverall in the 400m hurdles at the NCAA Championships, had an outstanding 2018 season. Gonzalez was the ACC 400m hurdles champion and anchored the Hurricanes’ 4x400m relay team to an ACC title, earning First Team All-ACC distinction in both events.
Anna Runia sped around the track in Heat 3 of the women’s 400m hurdles, finishing fourth in her heat and 15thoverall with a time of 58.65 seconds. The junior, who was the 2017 ACC champion in the women’s 400m hurdles, wrapped up a strong season that included Second Team All-ACC honors in the 400m hurdles. Runia was also a member of Miami’s ACC champion 4x400m relay team, earning First Team All-ACC honors in that event.
The Hurricanes placed fifth in Heat 3 of the women’s 4x400m semifinals with a time of 3:37.38, closing out their season among the top 20 in the NCAA. Symone Mason was joined by Runia, McMinn and Gonzalez in Thursday’s semifinal and the quartet finished 15thoverall at the NCAA Championships. Miami had an excellent season in the women’s 4x400m, winning the ACC championship in the event, as Mason, Runia, Michelle Atherley and Gonzalez combined to earn First Team All-ACC honors and bring home the gold medal.
“We’ve got to stop focusing on the outside,” Deem said. “If you can run well at home or you can run well against certain competition, then you can run anywhere and that’s on me and the coaching staff to get them prepared to come here and not worry about who is in the lane beside them and perform to the best of their ability. They’re fit, they’re ready to run and we’ve got to get them ready to compete on this level and that’s the focus from this year to next year. It’s not just about getting here. It’s about coming here and being a factor.”
Two days remain at the NCAA Championships and Gian Piero Ragonesi will be the final men’s competitor for the Canes, participating in the discus on Friday. MIchelle Atherley will open up in the women’s heptathlon on Friday. Atherley is back for the final three events of the heptathlon on Saturday, while Debbie Ajagbe will also represent the Miami women in the discus.
The NCAA Outdoor Championships will be broadcasted live across the ESPN family of networks. You can watch the action on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and on Saturday beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The entire meet, including event-specific streams, will be available on ESPN3and the Watch ESPN app. Fans can also follow the Hurricanes in action via live results by clicking HERE.
At the conclusion of the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the top eight finishers in each event will be named First Team All-American, while finishers 9-16 earn Second Team All-America honors and 17-24 receive All-America honorable mention.
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.
