Atherley Starts Strong in Heptathlon at NCAA Championships
EUGENE, Ore. – Day 3 at the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Championships marked the start of the women’s heptathlon and the end of an excellent career for one of the top throwers in University of Miami history.
Michelle Atherley and Gian Piero Ragonesi, two of the Hurricanes’ biggest leaders on the 2018 team, were in action at Historic Heyward Field on Friday.
Atherley got off to a strong start in the women’s heptathlon, finishing second in section 3 and overall in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.22 seconds, scoring 1,091 points to open her day. The junior cleared 1.69m in the high jump and posted a mark of 10.64m in the shot put.
“It was a pretty rough day, to say the least,” Atherley said. “Just getting from event to event, I had to change my mindset. Even though the previous event didn’t go as planned, you have to get ready for that next event and focus so you don’t mess up. Every event has its days and I feel like I just have to push through. This is my third heptathlon, so I am still working through some things and trying to find my groove.
After a disappointing performance in the shot put, Atherley responded in a big way in the 200m with a personal-best time of 24.04 seconds that was second-fastest in the field. Atherley finished Day 1 in fifth place with 3,481 points, trailing leader Louisa Grauvogel of Georgia by 271 points.
“Coming into the 200, I knew I had to run it out,” Atherley said. “I was in a position that I didn’t set myself up correctly, so I just wanted to come back and really do whatever I could. I thought it was a little bit rough, but I am in a good place going into Day 2 so I hope to keep it going.”
Gian Piero Ragonesi finished 20thin the men’s discus with a mark of 52.77m. The senior closed out an incredible career as a Hurricane, finishing in the school’s all-time top 5 in the indoor shot put and weight throw and outdoor shot put, discus and hammer throw. A native of Forli, Italy, Ragonesi holds the school record in the discus and the indoor shot put. He earned First Team All-ACC at the 2018 ACC Championships after winning bronze medals in both the shot put and discus, helping punctuate an outstanding tenure with the Canes.
Saturday will be the final day of competition at the 2018 NCAA Championships and Atherley is back for the final three events of the heptathlon, 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 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.
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