Track and field team welcomes 5 new Hurricanes

CC0 Image by lisakara / Pixabay
tracks-1182233_1280
CC0 Image by lisakara / Pixabay

Five student-athletes have committed to the Miami Hurricanes track and field team. Hasani Knight, Debbie Ajagbe, Kayla Johnson, Symone Mason and Amuru Patterson will attend the university in the fall of 2017.

Hasani Knight is the only male and non-Florida native in the fall signing class. Knight currently ranks No. 1 in the nation in the men’s triple jump at 15.52m. He won the 2016 AAU Junior Olympic Games triple-jump competition in Humble, Texas, representing Virginia Elite track and field. Knight has been listed as one of the top 10 returning track stars in Virginia.

Debbie Ajagbe is a two-time defending FHSAA 2A state champion in women’s discus from Ransom Everglades High School in Miami. She finished second in the 2A State Championship in women’s shot put. Ajagbe finished in the top 15 in her respective events at the 2016 New Balance Nationals outdoor meet at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro.

Kayla Johnson and Symone Mason hail from Southridge High School in Miami. Mason and Johnson are No. 8 and No. 9 in the country in the women’s 400m, respectively; their times are only 0.85 seconds apart. At Southridge, the ladies were members of the state runner-up women’s team in the 2016 FHSAA 4A State Championship. Johnson won the bronze medal in the women’s 800m.

The two also have international competitions under their belts. Johnson was a member of the champion women’s 4x400m relay and was a finalist in the women’s 800m at the 2016 Caribbean Scholastic Invitational in Havana, Cuba. Mason ran the women’s 400m and in the sprint medley relay in the 2015 World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia.

Amuru Patterson, from Haines City, Florida, is in the top 10 in the women’s 100m and 200m dashes. Patterson won her first gold medals in both events in the 2016 FHSAA 4A State Championships and was undefeated in the 100m in the 2016 outdoor season when running for Haines City High School. She won the 100m at the 2016 Adidas Boost Boston Games and finished second in the 200m at the 2016 AAU Club Nationals meet.

Look for these five young stars during the 2017-2018 season.