The Miami Hurricanes track and field team continued rewriting the record books as they traveled to Clemson for the Tiger Paw Invitational this past weekend. Competition began on Friday morning and carried through Saturday afternoon.
Throughout the season, Miami has showcased impressive depth in both the men’s and women’s 400m groups, and this weekend was no different.
On Friday, Ace Malone broke the school record set last year by Solomon Strader in the 400m, clocking 45.43 to finish second. But he wasn’t done there.
Malone returned Saturday alongside Sean Watkins, George Franks and Dominique Hall to break the school record yet again, this time in the 4x400m relay. Their time of 3:04.11 also set a new ACC record.
Franks (45.83) and Watkins (46.90) also delivered strong individual performances in the 400m, posting the third and fifth-fastest times in program history.
On the women’s side, the 4x400m team of Serena Tate, Sanaa Hebron, Gabriella Grissom and Nandy Kihuyu crossed the line in 3:31.65, moving up to second all-time in Miami history. Grissom also led the Hurricanes in the 800m, running 2:04.05 to place third.
Miami’s distance crew added to the momentum. Enrique Borrego climbed to third all-time in the mile (4:09.54) and fourth in the 3000m (8:21.33). Evan Pena followed with an 8:25.13 in the 3000m, securing the No. 5 spot in program history.
The record-breaking continued in the field events. Kennedy Sauder cleared 2.22m in the high jump, breaking his own school record from two years ago. The mark earned him second place and moved him into a tie for fourth nationally.
Heath Vernor kept the Hurricanes rolling, winning the men’s weight throw with a distance of 20.34m.
This meet marked Miami’s final indoor competition before entering championship season, beginning with the ACC Indoor Championships in Boston from Feb. 26 –28, followed by the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.
