It was another display of dominance for All-Americans Tim Harris and Krista Simkins at the ACC Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend. Running on a slow track, both gave impressive performances that cemented their NCAA-contender status.
Harris, a senior, won the 800 meters in 1 minute 50.05 seconds. It was his third consecutive win at the meet, and men’s head coach Mike Ward said he was pleased with Harris’ performance heading into the NCAA indoor championships in two weeks.
“It was his sixth ACC title in a row. He was pretty dominant. The kid from Georgia Tech took it out, but Tim didn’t have any problems catching him,” Ward said.
Simkins, also a senior, was equally dominant on the women’s side. After breezing through heats Friday, she outran the field in the 400 meters Saturday, running 53.84 to win by more than a full second. Later, she won the 200 meters in 23.65, more than half a second ahead of her closest competition.
Viktoria Andonova was another one of the University of Miami’s quality performers. She won the women’s high jump with a leap of 1.80 meters, her second consecutive ACC indoor title – good for the NCAA provisional standard. In the men’s high jump, Elan Daviglus was second with a jump of 2.04 meters. Ward said his achievement was noteworthy because of his struggle with an injured foot.
UM freshmen sprinters Tara Thomas and DeMarcus Van Dyke also did well. Thomas finished fourth in the women’s 60 meters with a time of 7.47. Van Dyke ran 6.81 in the qualifying round, just seven-hundredths off the NCAA provisional standard. Though Ward was “very pleased,” he said Van Dyke would return to football practice this week, and not seek to meet the mark.
Going into the NCAA meet, Harris has the seventh fastest time in the country, and Ward expressed optimism of his chances.
“He has as good a shot as anybody. He’s been there before and knows what he has to do.”
The NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, UM Track and Field’s next meet, take place March 14-15 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Krishen Rangi may be contacted at k.rangi@umiami.edu.