DII National Champion, a two-time ACC Champion, and the Hurricanes javelin record holder, Devoux Deysel can add DI National Champion to his list of accomplishments on his resume. This weekend in Eugene, Oregon, the senior took home the national title and, along with that, a few other firsts. He’s the first ever to win the javelin title both at the DI and DII level, the first Hurricane to claim outdoor NCAA gold since Davian Clarke did so in 1996, and the first ACC representative to take the javelin title since 2006. He led the way for the ‘Canes in a weekend where several other members cemented themselves as All-Americans.
Deysel has consistently topped the men’s field in the javelin, a trend he’s set since arriving from Angelo State two years ago. In those two years he’s shattered Miami’s records during the outdoor season. In his first-ever meet as a Hurricane, he topped a 25-year-old record set by Hurricanes Hall of Famer Ed Reed in 1999. From there he made his way to an ACC Championship gold and then an NCAA bronze.
But Deysel was not satisfied and came through his senior season with a vengeance. Gold’s in all his regular season appearances; he continued to push his record further. Another ACC gold followed up by a solid performance at the East Trials set him up for another chance at claiming that NCAA gold.
It didn’t take long for Deysel to make his statement on the national level. On his first throw the javelin hit the mark at 81.75 m, and no one would come close to competing. Two meters (about 9 feet) better than anyone in the competition, Deysel ended his senior season at the top of the podium with a gold medal around his neck.
Deysel wasn’t the only Hurricane to take home some personal glory. On Friday the ‘Canes took home two second-team All-American nods in the discus and the high jump. Desmond Coleman represented Miami in the discus and earned his first career All-American nod. After fouling on his first attempt and landing at the mark of 56.04, Coleman’s final throw landed at the 58.58 m mark, his second best throw of the season. This launched him up the leaderboards and into the 11th spot to earn his All-American spot.
Kennedy Sauder later that day followed him up, earning his third career All-American nod. Landing his first attempt at 2.10 meters, Sauder would earn a second team nod as well.
The women rounded out the success for the ‘Canes with some big performances that came together on Saturday. Earlier in the evening Christina Warren took to the triple jump, and on her second jump she landed at the 13.03 m mark, good for second team recognition.
On the track, Miami had two more big appearances to end their weekend. Junior Sanaa Hebron pulled double time again for Miami as she ran in both the 400m hurdles and 4x400m relay, helping Miami qualify for the finals in both. In the hurdles she placed fourth overall and second in her heat at 55.73 to qualify for finals, where she earned first-team All-American recognition. At 55.46 seconds, she placed fourth, just 0.26 short of third place.
With the relay women, she was joined by Serena Tate, Gabriella Grissom, and Alyssa Robinson. The group during the semis earned a finals spot after posting the fifth-fastest time in school history at 3:28.61, the sixth-best in the qualifying round, and ended eighth in the finals Saturday.
It was a long year for the Hurricanes, both through their indoor and outdoor seasons. With several All-American nods, ACC Championship victories, and crowning a national champion, this Hurricane’s squad is continuing to get better. The clock for next year is already ticking, and with several big-name Hurricanes heading into their senior seasons, next year could be another big one for the ‘Canes.