Track Earns 20 Entries to NCAA East Prelims
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program garnered 20 entries in the 2019 NCAA East Preliminary.
Miami will feature 15 different student-athletes in their respective events, with 10 women’s entries and five on the men’s side. This season’s prelims will also feature all four Canes relay teams for the first time in program history, as both the men’s and women’s 4×100 and 4×400 are set to compete in Jacksonville, Fla.
The preliminary competitions are scheduled for May 23 – 25. The University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., will host the East Preliminary and California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, Calif., will host the West Preliminary. The qualifiers out of these two regions will compete in the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 5-8 in Austin, Texas.
NCAA track and field fans can watch live and on-demand coverage of the NCAA Division I East and/or West Preliminary Championships on FloTrack with a Pro subscription. Coverage of the preliminary competitions will be available May 23-25. To access the East Preliminary coverage please click here.
Michelle Atherley punched her ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the women’s heptathlon, earning one of the top 24 scores in the country. The senior’s school record of 5,966 points is the second-best score in the country heading into nationals this season.
Five women will compete in sprint events, including Carolyn Brown who’s ranked 22nd in the 100m with her time of 11.38 seconds and Amuru Patterson ranked 30th at 11.46. Symone Mason will be the lone Cane competing in the 200m, entering the event ranked 27th with her time of 23.49.
Brittny Ellis and Kayla Johnson are the final two women representing Miami in sprints as the two will in the 400m and 800m, respectively.
On the men’s side, Raheem Chambers will run in the 100m dash, coming in with the 10th-fastest time at 10.09 seconds.
Miami will have three top-20 entries in the 400m hurdles with Samantha Gonzalez ranked at No. 4 with her time of 57.33, Thomas Burns ranked at No. 8 with a time of 50.62 and McKinly Brown with the 14th-fastest time at 51.00 seconds. Tiara McMinn’s personal-best time of 12.96 seconds set at ACC Outdoor Championships, ranks as the seventh-best time in the 100m hurdles entering the East Prelims.
For the first time in program history, Miami will send all four relay teams to the prelims in the same season. The women’s 4×100 relay team coming off a gold medal performance, holds the fifth-best time entering the meet. The women’s 4×400 relay team also holds the fifth-fastest time at 3:32.22. On the men’s side, the 4×100 relay ranks 24th in the East region with a season-best time of 40.00 seconds, which ranks third in program history. The men’s 4×400 relay boast the 12th-best time at 3:06.51.
The Canes will be well represented in the field events with six individuals competing. Both Darlene Charles and Hasani Knight will enter the triple jump ranked with the 20th and 21st best marks, respectively.
Debbie Ajagbe is the lone Cane entered in two individual events as the sophomore is ranked seventh in the discus throw and 38th in the shot put. Zakiya Rashid will join Ajagbe in the discus event, holding the ninth-best mark at 55.13m. Kevin Arreaga is the final Cane entered in the East Prelims and will compete in the men’s hammer throw with his personal-best mark of 71.07m, which ranks seventh overall.
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