In their final home meet of the season, the annual Miami Elite Invitational, the University of Miami men’s and women’s track and field seniors did not disappoint.
Four-time All-American Tim Harris broke another school record, this time in the 1,500-meter, an event that isn’t his specialty. Harris, typically an 800-meter runner, broke the nine-year old record with a time of 3 minutes 53.38 seconds. The old record of 3:54.03 was set in 1999.
“It feels good,” Harris said after the historic performance. “That record was one of my goals that I set at the beginning of the season. I felt I could have run it a little faster. But to get the record and the win at our last home meet in front of family and friends makes me feel really good.”
To go along with Harris’ new school record, senior Khadija Talley wrote herself into the record book as well. Talley broke her own school record in the discus throw with a throw of 57.10 meters and took first place in the shot put, reaching 15.00 meters. With her throw of 57.10 meters in the discus, Talley reached the top mark in the nation, becoming the third female Cane to do so this season.
“I was very pleased with Talley,” said women’s head coach Amy Deem, whose team is ranked No. 7 in the nation. “She had a huge personal best and set a school record in women’s discus. It was good to see that.”
Not only did the Hurricanes compete against other collegiate athletes, they also competed against some of the world’s best. Overall, men’s head coach Mike Ward was pleased with the team’s effort and hard work during the Miami Elite.
“We had a nice little meet,” Ward said of the Invitational. “Things went pretty well. This helped us get ready for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship. We did a lot better here than I expected which made it a really nice meet.”
The Hurricanes now will prepare to travel to Atlanta, Ga., to compete in the ACC championship, looking to win awards and qualify for the NCAA championships.
“The big picture for us is the ACC championship,” Deem said. “This track meet was great for our athletes to compete against some of the best athletes in the world. It was great experience.”
Lelan LeDoux may be contacted at l.ledoux@umiami.edu.