In their second meet of the indoor season, Miami Hurricanes track and field made waves at the Razorback Invitational in Arkansas. Across the weekend, they set new records with many new names entering the top-five in Hurricanes history.
Miami got a strong start on Friday from its throwers in the field. In the weight throw, newcomer Tania Da Silva stepped onto the circle and entered her name into Hurricanes history. The junior out of Porto Alegre, Brazil, launched a throw of 21.82 m, the second-longest mark in school history.
In fourth, Da Silva was joined by ECU transfer junior Jocelyn Pringle (fifth) and Calea Jackson (eighth), who put up personal best performances in the event.
For the men, Desmond Coleman placed second with a throw of 20.55 m and junior Heath Vernor was right behind with a throw of 19.02 m.
The highlight of the weekend came on Saturday when the men’s 4×400-meter team of seniors Sean Watkins, George Franks and Robert Joseph, and junior Ace Malone came in second. Their time of 3:05.52 broke the school record set last year.
Watkins and Franks, part of that grouping that set the record in February of last year, are continuing their expertise in the relay, now a part of four of the five squads in the men’s top five.
Individually in the 400, Malone shined as well. His time of 45.75 placed fourth on the day and, with a new personal best, moved him into second place all-time in the event, right over Davian Clark’s 1998 mark and 0.01 second behind Solomon Strader’s record that he set last year.
The women didn’t disappoint either; seniors Gabriella Grissom and Sanaa Hebron, sophomore Serena Tate and Arizona transfer Antonia Sanchez Nunez came in sixth, but their time of 3:32.15 was the third fastest time in school history. It’s the first new addition to the school’s indoor top-five in the relay since 2023, when a team Hebron was a part of set the previous third-best time.
In the 800, joined by Grissom, senior Natalie Varela placed second with a time of 2:01.82, taking her into second all-time in the event with her new personal best. Grissom, who holds the record, was right behind at 2:01.87, coming in third. With the men, Enrique Borrego moved into fourth all-time in the 800m with a time of 8:23.01.
Staying on the track, junior Maddie Scheier continued to make strides in taking the 3000-meter record. With a time of 9:30.00, she set a new personal best by 13 seconds and is now nine seconds short of the record set by Daphnee Lavassas in 2024.
Rounding it out in the heptathlon, senior Edgar Campre opened with a strong showing, but graduate transfer from Cincinnati, Dominique Hall, opened his Miami career with a strong showing as well. With a total of 5603 points, Hall entered into the top five right above the mark set by Roland DaSilva in 2008.
Coming off their strong start to the season, Hurricanes track and field will hope to continue the momentum in a couple weeks over in Clemson, S.C., for the Tiger Paw Invitational. The meet is Feb. 13 and 14.
