Miami track and field went to Manhattan, Kansas for the DeLoss Dodds invitational, and over the two-day event, several ‘Canes made a statement and made team history.
Day One
The highlight of the day came when Edgar Campre made school history in the heptathlon. With a score of 5,778 points and a first-place finish, Campre now holds the UM record, breaking Aaron Moser’s mark set back in 2002. The sophomore ranks eighth in the entirety of the NCAA and first in the ACC for the event.
This was not the only record-book performance, as senior Solomon Strader, with a time of 46.46, moved into second all-time in school history for the 400-meter. Strader finished fourth in the event, with freshman Ace Malone not far behind with a time of 47.37, finishing sixth in the event. Senior Kennedy Brace, with a personal best of 54.74, took home the women’s 400-meter crown, with senior Krystalann Bechard coming in third about a second later.
In the 60-meter hurdles, both the men and women had notable times. Graduate student Christina Warren took home third, and senior Sincere Rhea, with a first-place finish, took home another top-five time in the event.
Josh Jones took a top-five spot in Miami history in the men’s 1000-meter with a time of 2:30.19.
In the field, the ‘Canes had a couple of standouts, as Erikka Hill finished second in the women’s weight throw and Russell Robinson finished second in the long jump.
Day Two
On the second day, the team had some more impressive feats to end the standout weekend.
The 400-meter relay was a highlight for both teams. The men took fifth place in the group but had a great performance. The team of Strader, Malone, sophomore Robert Joseph and Oskars Bambals notched a time of 3:09.54, good enough for third in Miami history. This isn’t a first for Strader and Bambals, who were part of the school record time set back in 2021.
As for the women, they were also spectacular, and the team of Brace, seniors Sierra Oliveira and Natalie Varela, as well as sophomore Gabriella Girssom, took first in their 400 relay.
The 800-meter was another place where many Miami runners shined. For the men, Bambals made a mark on his own, taking second in the event. His time of 1:50.01 puts him in the top five in school history. In the women’s race, the Hurricanes held three of the top four spots, with Grissom in first, Varela in second and graduate student Emma Maurel in fourth. Grissom’s time of 2:05.89 gives her the second-best time in program history.
Wrapping up the results on the track, graduate students Makenzy Pierre-Webster and Alyssa Robinson took second and third, respectively.
As for the field, there were several high finishes from Miami. In the shot put, Hill and graduate student Milton Ingraham took second place in the shot put for the women and men.
In the men’s high jump, Kennedy Sauder and Aaron Kim, who each claimed top five heights less than a month ago, again reached marks good enough for the top five. Sauder, who took second in the event, reached 2.15 meters and Kim, who was fourth, got 2.10 meters.
The weekend was a standout across the board for the ‘Canes and sets the bar high going early into this season. Next weekend, they split up into two groups, with one heading up to Boston for the David Hemmer Valentine Invitational and the other going to Clemson for the Tiger Paw Invitational.