Track's Road to Austin Begins Thursday at NCAA Prelims
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CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The quest for a spot at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships begins Thursday for Miami’s track and field program.
The preliminary competitions are scheduled for May 23-25, hosted by the University of North Florida at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. Ten women and five men will represent the Canes in their individual events, along with the 4×100 and 4×400 relay for both teams. This is the first time in program history all four Miami relay teams will be competing in the same regional.
The qualifiers out of the regionals will compete in the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships 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.
Live results of this week’s event can also be found by clicking HERE.
Thursday – May 23
ACC silver medalist Kevin Arreaga will kick things off for the Canes, competing Thursday in the men’s hammer throw. The sophomore, who’s ranked seventh in the East Region in the event with a mark of 71.07m, is set to throw at noon.
Senior Samantha Gonzalez will be the first Cane on the track, competing in the women’s 400m hurdles at 4:30 p.m. Gonzalez enters Thursday’s event with the fourth-best time at 57.33 seconds and will compete in heat 4 of the event. The top three finishers in each heat plus the next six best times will qualify for the quarterfinals scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m.
Freshman Thomas Burns and junior McKinly Brown will follow Gonzalez in the 400m hurdles at 5 p.m. Burns is ranked eighth with his time of 50.62 seconds and Brown comes in at No. 14 with his time of 51.00 seconds. Burns is scheduled to compete in Heat 2 in lane six, while Brown will compete in Heat 6 in lane four.
Carolyn Brown’s time of 11.38 seconds ranks as the 22nd-fastest 100m dash time entering the meet. The senior is scheduled to compete at 6:30 p.m. in Heat 4. Raheem Chambers will follow in the men’s 100m dash at 6:55 p.m. in the final heat. Chambers boasts the 10th-fastest time heading into the event with his time of 10.09 seconds, which ranks as the second-fastest time in program history.
Senior Brittny Ellis will compete in the first heat of the women’s 400m dash scheduled for 7:20 p.m. The ACC silver medalist holds the second-fastest time in her heat, just behind Doneisha Anderson of Florida. Kayla Johnson, also an ACC silver medalist, will compete in the women’s 800m run at 8:10 p.m. and will be the final Cane to compete on the opening day of regionals.
Friday – May 24
The Canes will begin the day back on the field as sophomore Debbie Ajagbe and senior Zakiya Rashid compete in the women’s discus at noon. The pair boast top-10 marks in the event with Ajagbe holding the seventh-best mark and Rashid at No. 9.
Sophomore Tiara McMinn will make her way to the track at 4:30 p.m., for the women’s 100m hurdles. McMinn boasted a personal-best mark at ACCs with a time of 12.96 seconds, which ranks as the seventh-best time at the East Prelims and fourth-fastest time in Miami history.
The quarterfinals of the men’s and women’s 400m, 100m, 800m, and 400m hurdles are scheduled from 5:30-7:15 p.m. Sophomore Symone Mason will compete in the first round of the women’s 200m dash at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday – May 25
Darlene Charles will start the final day of competition for the Canes in the women’s triple jump at 3 p.m. Ajagbe will return to the competition in her second individual event of the week in the women’s shot put at 5:15 p.m. Ajagbe is the lone Cane competing in two individual events.
Miami’s first of four relay teams in action is scheduled for 6 p.m., as the women’s 4×100 are set to compete in the first of three heats. The top three teams in each heat, plus the next three best times will qualify for Austin. The men’s 4×100 relay will follow at 6:15 p.m.
Hasani Knight is the final Cane to compete in his respective event, as the junior enters the men’s triple jump with the 21st-best mark. The triple jump is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
The women’s 100m and 200m quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday night. The women’s and men’s 4×400 relay will be the final two events weekends, with the women scheduled to begin at 9:25 p.m. and the men set for 9:45.
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.
