Zahafi, Holmes Post Top-10 NCAA Marks at Meyo Invitational
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The duo of Ayman Zahafi and Isaiah Holmes posted top-10 marks to cap off the Meyo Invitational and lead the University of Miami track and field team on Saturday inside the Loftus Sports Center.
Zahafi clocked in at 1:47.80, third fastest in the NCAA this year, as he finished first in the 800m. His time bested the previous program record of 1:47.99 set by Tim Harris in 2006.
Holmes notched a 2.19m high jump and 7.90m long jump for the sixth best marks in both events this season in the NCAA. His high jump mark sets a new high mark in the school record book after he set a new program record of 2.14m just two weeks ago. The Roseville, Calif. Native, tied the school long jump record to end his day. He finished first in the high jump and second in the long jump.
“I thought Ayman and Isaiah had great weekends to perform at the level they did and have some of the top marks in the country coming out of this meet. I am very happy for them,” said director of track and field and cross country Amy Deem. “We had some personal bests and school records but as a team I think we need to get better. There was some adversity this weekend and I think sometimes you grow from that, but I didn’t see that with some people this weekend. I think there are a lot of places where we should have performed better.”
For the third time in as many races this season, Daphnee Lavassas ran to a new school record in the 3000m. She posted a time of 9:24.02 on her way to crushing her previous time of 9:33.85.
In the sprints group it was a clean sweep for the women in the 60m. After finishing one through three in the prelims, the trio of Alfreda Steele, Jacious Sears and Mercy Ntia-Obong continued their strong running in the finals. It was Sears leading the way as she crossed the finish line in 7.36, followed by Steele four seconds later, 7.40, and Ntia-Obong in 7.49.
It was a pair of Miami runners, Moriah Oliveira and Blanca Hervas-Rodriguez, who earned the top two spots in the 400m final. Oliveira paced the field with a finish of 53.42, while Hervas-Rodriguez came in in 54.44.
Andre Turay raced to a time of 7.98 to claim second in the 60m hurdles. Natalie Varela posted a time of 2:10.73 in the 800m to earn third. On the women’s side, the relay team of Hervas-Rodriguez, Moriah Oliveira, Sierra Oliveira and Kayla Johnson finished third as the squad ran across the finish line in 3:41.63.
In the field, Hannah-Sophia Hall got the day started with a 16.20m throw in the shot put for third-place. In back-to-back days, Ashley Moore was tabbed fourth after she triple jumped 12.35m on day two.
Joining Holmes in the long jump top-five today was Russell Robinson. He finished fifth with a mark of 7.34m.
Next up, Miami will travel to Clemson, S.C., for the Tiger Paw Invitational Feb. 11-12.
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