Miami Women Ranked No. 22

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The women of the Miami track and field program are ranked No. 22 in U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s first outdoor rankings of the season.

Four Miami event times and marks rank among the top 10 in the NCAA, led by the Canes’ 4×100 relay team of Lauryn Harris, Alfreda Steele, Jacious Sears and Tiara McMinn. The relay team’s time of 44.04 ranks as the fourth-fastest time in the country.

Zakiya Rashid broke her program record in the women’s discus with a mark of 57.64m, which ranks as No. 5 in NCAA, followed by Alfreda Steele’s time of 11.30 in the women’s 100m dash at No. 8 and Michelle Atherley’s time of 13.12 in the 100m hurdles closing out the top 10.

At No. 18, Miami’s 4×400 relay team of Kennedy Brace, Sierra Oliveira, Kayla Johnson and Michelle Atherley posted a time of 3:38.34, while senior Debbie Ajagbe recorded a mark of 16.37m to break the top 20.

Three more track events scored points for the Canes’ team total. Johnson (No. 27) ran a time of 54.33 in the women’s 800m, followed by Oliveira’s time of 54.75 (No. 36) and Harris’s season-best time of 13.40 in the 100m hurdles ranks as No. 32 in the NCAA.

Atherley and Taylor Wright’s marks of 1.71m in the high jump are tied for No. 48, while Kristina Rakocevic’s personal best mark of 51.98m in the discus comes in at No. 30. Selina Dantzler’s registered mark of 15.49m in the shot closes Miami’s top scored events at No. 50.

The Canes travel to Tallahassee, Fla., April 2 for the Florida Relays.