April 4, 2008
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The University of Miami's freshman Ti'erra Brown ran a sub 58-second time in the 400-meter hurdles, improving her No. 1 ranking in the event and finishing the event as the top-collegiate runner at the first day of the prestigious Florida Relays.
Miami alumna Dominique Darden finished one spot ahead of Brown in the event. Brown finished the race at 57.49, Tameka Jameson finished sixth overall with her second best time of the year at 59.66 seconds.
For the second straight week Brown has also ran a personal best in the 110-meter hurdles. Friday afternoon she crossed the finish line in a time of 13.17 seconds, winning the event. With her new regional qualifying time, Brown jumps from the 16th to the fifth fastest time, nationally.
Fellow freshman Takecia Jameson also ran her personal-best in consecutive meets, placing eighth at 13.66. Also running in the event were Nene Kamate and Deandra Doyley who finished 21st and 22nd respectively at 14.25 and 14.27.
Doyley was the lone representative for the Hurricanes in the long jump and hit a mark of 5.74m.
Charlene Fuller made her collegiate debut in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.82, good for a 19th-place finish in a field of 50 competitors. Tara Thomas matched her season-best time in the event at 11.93 seconds.
Junior All-American Ena Leufroy ran to a 19th-place finish in the 800-meters with a time of 2:15.20, her second-best time of the season.
The 4x200-meter relay team of Kristy Whyte, Takecia Jameson and Krista Simkins and Kamate ran the fastest collegiate time at 1:33.78. The only team to finish ahead of the Hurricanes consisted of former Miami stars, Charlette Greggs, Debbie Ferguson, Lauren Williams and Wyllesheia Myreck.
Khadija Talley reached a new career-high in the hammer throw as she qualified for the NCAA Regionals with a throw of 56.27m. The toss was five meters better than last week at the Hurricane Challenge and just shy of two meters better than her previous all-time high.
Viktoria Andonova leapt to a 1.75m mark in the high jump for the third straight week. Freshman Megan Novinger reached 1.60m, her best collegiate mark.
The second and final day of the Florida Relays will begin tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. with the discus. Next week the Hurricanes will host the Miami Elite Invitational. The annual meet will run throughout Saturday, March 12.
