The Miami track & field team competed in its second contest of the indoor season Jan. 21-22, taking part in the Carolina Challenge hosted by the University of South Carolina.
Three program records were rewritten over the weekend, starting with the men’s 200-meter which fell on the first day of competition. Fifth-year senior Khamal Stewart-Baynes clocked a time of 21.17, breaking the old record of 21.36 which had stood since 1987.
Stewart-Baynes’ school-record run was good for third place in the competition behind Anthony Greenhow of South Carolina and Eric Harrison of Ohio State, respectively.
Two more Hurricanes records fell on the second day of competition: the women’s 3000-meter and men’s high jump.
Freshman Daphnee Lavassas ran a time of 9:33.85 in the 3000-meter, equivalent to 7.5 laps or roughly 1.9 miles. Her performance was good enough to win the women’s 3000m competition on the weekend, and break Lavassas’ previous school record of 9:41.65.
The new Miami men’s high jump record belongs to Isaiah Holmes, who jumped 2.14 meters into second place on the weekend, beating the previous record of 2.11 set in 2015.
However, the record breakers weren’t the only Hurricanes who found success on the weekend.
“It was a great team effort [Saturday] with a lot of great performances. We really got a lot accomplished this weekend,” said Amy Deem, Miami’s director of track and field/cross country.
Senior Ayman Zahafi certainly got a lot accomplished by taking the crown in the men’s 800-meter, with a time of 1:50.59.
Zahafi was later part of a winning 4×400 relay team alongside Jalen Gordon, Solomon Strader, and Stewart-Baynes, with the quartet clocking a time of 3:09.48.
Freshman Moriah Oliveira found individual success in the 400-meter, winning the event on the women’s side with a time of 53.25.
Miami rounded out the strong performance on the track with a few victories in the field events.
In the throwing events, junior Kristina Rakocevic claimed the women’s shot put title with a mark of 13.82 meters, while senior Kevin Arreaga took home a victory in the men’s weight throw with a 21.66-meter distance.
The Hurricanes impressed in the jumping events as well, particularly the triple jump, where junior Russell Robinson rounded out a strong team display with a victorious leap of 15.78m.
Deem added that “there were a lot of performances we can build on as we work towards the ACC Championships.”
The Hurricanes will continue their journey to the ACC Championships by splitting the team for competition on Feb. 4, sending half to the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana and half to the New Mexico Collegiate Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico.