Johnson Runs Record 800m at Hurricane Collegiate Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program got a big boost from a freshman at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational.
Kayla Johnson won the women’s 800m with an ACC-leading time of 2:03.04. The freshman’s personal-best time also broke her own school record of 2:03.92 that she set at Florida Relays on March 30. Anne den Otter was third in the same event with a personal-best time of 2:14.41.
“Kayla is the spark right now,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “She’s responding when challenged and she is coming out and competing like a champ and that’s whys he’s where she’s at. I’m very proud of the way she ran today. It wasn’t the best day to run an 800.”
Anna Runia won the women’s 400m hurdles with a time of 57.67 seconds, while Tiara McMinn was third with a personal-best time of 59.68 seconds
“Anna took a pretty good fall last week, so for her to get up and put herself right at the top of the conference is great,” Deem said. “I’m proud of her because I think she is going to get better each week, as well.”
The Hurricanes’ best men’s race was their final one, as Miami was second in the men’s 4x400m relay as the quartet of McKinly Brown, Ibrahim Dodo, Valentine and Breon Mullings combined to run a season-best time of 3:10.16.
“I am extremely proud of them because the four kids that are on the track are bought in,” Deem said. “We’ve had some adversity in that group, so to se them continue to stay bought in and compete every weekend hard is something that I am very pleased with.”
Miami was third in the women’s 4x100m relay, as Kristina Knott, Alfreda Steele, Symone Mason and McMinn combined to run a time of 43.80 seconds that just missed the school’s all-time top 5 list.
Steele was third in the women’s 100m dash with a time of 11.34 seconds that ranks third in UM history, while Knott finished fifth with a time of 11.59 seconds.
“There were some bright spots. We are trying to pick and choose our races this week because we have been competing a lot. I am proud of Alfreda because she is running right at her personal-best, so that’s a positive. I thought some kids weren’t as competitive as they needed to be or as they were last week, so that’s my job to fix that.”
McMinn was fourth in the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 13.33 seconds, while Michelle Atherley was sixth with a time of 13.66 seconds.
Myles Valentine was fifth in the men’s 200m with a time of 21.49 seconds, while Mason finished seventh in the women’s 200m with a time of 23.50 seconds.
Dylan Sykes finished third in the men’s 3000m with a personal-best time of 9:13.93.
The Canes also had several strong marks in the field events, including a big personal-best that earned a sophomore a victory in the triple jump.
Peyton Russell won the women’s triple jump with a personal-best mark of 12.56m, while Hasani Knight was fifth in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 14.48m.
“Peyton is a good example of sometimes it doesn’t come as quickly as she wanted it or we wanted it, but this year she has stayed focused and been determined and hard work pays off,” Deem said. “She continues to believe in her training and it all came together for her today.”
Debbie Ajagbe was third in the women’s hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 60.51m that ranks fourth in UM history. Zakiya Rashid finished sixth with a mark of 55.43m.
Ajagbe also finished fourth in the women’s discus with a throw of 50.47m, while Sherry Lubin was fifth with a personal-best mark of 46.27m.
“I’m proud of Debbie,” Deem said. “She’s a freshman and she continues to get better. You’re not going to PR every week, but she is continuing to get better in at least one event every week in the throws, especially in an event she’s never done before. To see her come out and have such a big PR is great. We’ve just got to keep building on it. I don’t want anyone to get complacent.”
Tristan Schultheis finished second in the men’s high jump with a mark of 2.01m, while Kyra Maryland and Celine Thompson each cleared 1.65m to finish eighth and ninth, respectively, in the women’s high jump.
Atherley finished second in the women’s long jump with a mark of 5.78m, while Darlene Charles placed fifth with a mark of 5.67m. Andreas Christodoulou was fifth in the men’s long jump with a personal-best mark of 7.26m.
Complete meet results are available HERE.
Following this weekend’s action, the Hurricanes will head to Charlottesville, Va., to compete at the Virginia Challenge on April 20-21. To view the complete Miami Track and Field schedule for the 2018 season, click here.
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