Miami track and field honored its seniors at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational in its final home meet of the season. The meet was host to many high-profile Olympic athletes as well as college stars, and amongst them, the ‘Canes showcased their talents.
Starting with the seniors honored on Saturday, there were several who made a good mark to end their time at Cobb Stadium. Russell Robinson earned a mark of 16.30 meters in the triple jump, finishing first. Robinson now grows his lead as the ACC leader and moves to fourth in the entire nation in the event. Milton Ingraham had another great performance in the discus. With his throw of 59.10 meters, he captured a first-place finish of his own.
In the 400m, seniors Makenzie Pierre-Webster and Kennedy Brace took fourth and fifth place, respectively. Brace‘s performance moved her up as the ACC’s sixth-best in the event. Pierre-Webster, who still sits as the ACC’s best in the 400m, also participated in the women’s first place 4-by-100m. The squad also included freshman Sophie Haag, junior Alyssa Robinson and fellow senior Christina Warren who also had a great senior sendoff. Along with her performance in the relay, Warren had fourth-place finishes in the 100m hurdles and the triple jump.
Rounding out the solid senior performances. Senior Oskars Bambals, with his time of 1:49.35, moved into fifth in the ACC for the 800m. Ramy Berberena got a fourth-place finish in the 400m.
Lastly, the women’s 4-by-400m team, led by seniors Natalie Varela and Krystalann Bechard, was joined by sophomores Georgia Tombs and Jemima Mills. Varela also participated in the 800m, where she placed sixth with a time of 2:05.82.
Outside of its seniors, Miami had a great day with many highlights in the field.
Junior Devoux Deysel, the ACC’s best javelin thrower, had a massive win, and in his first throw, he hit the mark of 74.67 meters. That would stand as the best on the day by eight meters more than anyone else. His counterpart, Deisiane Texeria, had a great performance, coming in second place with her throw of 48.33 meters.
Looking at the jumps, junior Kennedy Sauder continues to move his way up Miami’s record book. His mark of 2.18 meters in the high jump moved him into second all-time, over Tim James’ mark from 1996. Sauder improved by .02 meters from last week and continues to inch closer to the 2.21-meter record set by Isaiah Holmes back in 2021. Along with him, freshman Ashton Torns, with a mark of 7.42 meters, took home first in the meet. Torns now cracks the top ten in the ACC for the event. Though not yet in the top five for Miami, he continues to impress through his strong freshman season.
Miami rounded out the day with some strong performances from some more non-seniors.
Gabriella Grissom, with a time of 2:04.82, took second in the women’s 800m. Freshmen Madeline Scheier, with a time of 4:31.77, and Matthew Thomas, with a time of 4:00.76, earned third and fourth, respectively, in the 1500m. Rounding out the long-distance highlights, freshman Michael Castillo came in third for the 3000m with a time of 8:55.57.
Haag and Robinson, among stacked groups for the 100 and 200-meter races, both finished in sixth place.
Though that will be the last of the ‘Canes at Cobb Stadium for the year, they still have a few weeks before the championship season starts. This week, they will send junior Daphnee Lavassas, a 10,000m runner, to the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 11 in California and will go as a team to the LSU Alumni Gold in two weeks on April 20.