CORAL GABLES, Fla. – As Miami gears up for the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships this Thursday, junior sprinter Ace Malone has nothing but confidence in the potential for him and his team to do something extraordinary.

Malone put on a show at the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson earlier this month, helping set an ACC record in the men’s 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:04.11

Malone also broke the Miami 400-meter dash school record with a time of 45:43.

Despite this career-defining individual accolade, Malone still considers the 4×400 men’s relay time his most impressive career achievement because of what it meant to win with his teammates.

“The 4×400 shows what we’ve been doing as a team, and to finally be able to come together after hard practices and shatter the ACC record is pretty cool… It’s my greatest accomplishment so far,” Malone said.

A multisport athlete out of Castle Rock, Colo., the junior superstar is no stranger to dominating on the track, winning a Colorado state championship for the 400-meter dash in 2022 and making the first team All-Continental league in high school.

However, despite all of his accomplishments, Malone’s journey has been anything but straightforward. In high school, he originally intended on playing college football before breaking his ankle and tearing his knee. He only discovered track and field in his junior year.

Even in college, Malone has dealt with injuries that have limited him in practice and in competitions, including a stress fracture in his spine.

“It’s just hard mentally doing all the work but knowing you’re not where you should be,” Malone said.

But now, after everything he’s been through with injuries in both high school and college, Malone is finally ready to make his mark with everything he’s got in the tank.

“I know I’ve prepared, and I know I’m at 100 percent, so seeing my growth since the injuries has been really good,” Malone said.

Another key factor contributing to Malone’s incredible performances has been the way he has trained with his team in anticipation of the 2026 season.

The Hurricanes begin their preparation in the fall with intense practices led by Amy Deem, Miami’s Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, and the rest of her staff.

Malone cites these endurance-focused training sessions as the reason for why he can now “run a lot longer with a better savings account for the spring.

“Missing a practice doesn’t hurt as much as it normally would,” he added.

In fact, it was largely due to Deem and her coaching that Malone decided to come to The U.

One of the most decorated coaches in UM history, Deem has coached 19 national champions and 215 All-Americans at Miami.

“I saw her vision of what the team could be and really liked who she was as a person . . . I also thought it was pretty cool that she was a female head coach, especially because I had a female head coach in high school and was raised by a single mom,” Malone said.

Besides Deem, Malone credits his family and teammates for helping push him to new heights every single day.

“I have a really good support system at home that pushes me to have high goals…now at Miami I’m surrounded by goal-oriented guys who all have high standards,” Malone said.

It isn’t surprising that the Colorado native holds his team in such high regards. As accomplished as Malone is individually, he isn’t the only member of Miami track and field who has impressed this season.

UM senior Kennedy Sauder was named the ACC Indoor Field Performer of the Week after breaking his own school record with a 2.22-meter-high jump, while graduate student Gabriella Grissom reached the podium in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:04:05.

“I’m training with guys that all [want to] win the nationals. They’re the best in the world. That’s why meets don’t really feel that different from practices,” Malone said.

The ACC indoor championship meet marks Miami’s most significant event to date this season, but Malone has his sights set on even greater ambitions.

“I’m focused on ACCs as much as I am on nationals. I want the 4×400 team to be there to try to break our own record,” Malone said.

Despite his focus on the future, Malone still wants to embrace the moment, a philosophy he has maintained both on and off the track to balance academics and athletics.

“It was definitely hard at first, but I figured out how to keep school and track as two separate parts of my life, so I’m not distracted in either one…I don’t just [want to] be there; I [want to] go and compete,” Malone said.

And compete is exactly what Miami has done at the conference championships throughout its storied track and field history.

UM has won 17 conference titles under Deem’s leadership, including nine since joining the ACC before the 2005 season.

With athletes as talented and disciplined as Malone, there is nothing to indicate that the Hurricanes can’t keep adding to the record books this season.

The ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships take place from February 26-28 at The TRACK at New Balance in Boston. The meet will be broadcast live on the ACC Network and ACC Network Extra.