Track and field opens outdoor season with Hurricane Invitational

Senior Alysha Newman set a school record in the women's pole vault at 4.50m during the Armory Track Invitational in New York. She is pictured here at the 2014 Miami Invitational track meet. File photo

Coming off the NCAA Division l Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend in Birmingham, Alabama, Miami track and field opened the outdoor season at home this weekend by hosting the Hurricane Invitational.

“We didn’t run everybody this weekend,” Head Coach Amy Deem told HurricaneSports.com, “but the people that did compete got some great experiences.”

The men’s team dominated the field events. Freshman Andreas Christodoulou won the javelin with a throw of 58.14m; the throw is second in school history behind dual-athlete Ed Reed’s record mark. Christodoulou also finished third in the pole vault behind sophomore silver medalist Nick Catchur. Catchur had a 4.55m vault, and Christodoulou had a 4.25m vault. Senior John-Patrick Friday won two silvers with a 7.24m long jump and a 14.93m triple jump.

Junior Gian Piero Ragonesi won the discus with a 54.07m throw, while redshirt sophomore Daniel Polinski placed third with a throw of 47.97m. Ragonesi and redshirt senior Isaiah Simmons had a one-two finish in the shot put with throws of 18.52m and 17.71m, respectively. Ragonesi now has the third-best discus throw and second-best shot put throw in Miami history.

Junior Carlos Mangum and Simmons took first and second in the hammer throw. Mangum’s personal-best throw of 63.58m is the best in school history, while Simmons’ own personal-best throw at 58.23m is third in school history.

In the women’s field events, freshman Kyra Maryland won the high jump at 1.70m. Her jump ranks fifth in program history. In discus, senior Precious Ogunleye won the event with a 46.97m throw, and second in the hammer throw at 57.01m. Junior Amanda Gale won the pole vault at a height of 3.55m, setting a new personal best. The vault is also second in school history. Freshman Zakiya Rashid placed third in the shot put with a throw of 12.22m. Sophomore Amy Taintor finished second in the long jump at 5.77m.

In the men’s running events, sophomore Sean Grossman won the silver in the men’s 5000m run with a time of 14:56.01. Grossman added another silver in the 1500m run, finishing at 4:07.57.

Kicking off the women’s running events was the 4x100m relay of freshman Carolyn Brown, freshman Erin Ford, sophomore Trishelle Lealock, and junior Ebony Morrison. The Hurricanes smoked the competition to win with a time of 44.98.

Freshman Anne Den Otter won the 800m run, clocking in a time of 2:16.60. With a time of 59.43, junior Jamika Glades won the silver in the 400m hurdles. Junior Aiyanna Stiverne edged the competition to win the 200m at a personal-best time of 23.33. The 4x400m closed the women’s portion of the meet with a win; sophomore Destiny Washington, freshman Samantha Gonzalez, freshman Anna Runia and Ford never lost the lead, finishing with a time of 3:40.44.

The Canes next compete in the Hurricane Twilight Meet at 2:30 p.m. on Friday in Coral Gables.