CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Michelle Atherley of the Miami Track and Field Program has successfully defended her ACC Outdoor Heptathlon Championship.
The senior athlete secured her title on Friday, beginning the day with a first-place finish in the women’s long jump, recording a mark of 6.06 meters, which marked her fifth consecutive event win leading into the javelin throw. Atherley’s javelin throw of 29.18 meters resulted in a temporary drop to second place in the overall standings, a first for her during the weekend.
A strong finishing effort in the final 100 meters of the 800-meter run allowed Atherley to achieve a second-place result with a time of 2:15.96, narrowly surpassing Erin Marsh of Duke to retain her 2018 ACC heptathlon title. Atherley accumulated a total of 5,855 points, securing the victory and contributing 10 team points for Miami in the women’s team competition.
In the men’s events, sophomore Kevin Arreaga placed second in the hammer throw for the second consecutive year, recording a mark of 69.13 meters. The Spain native’s performance earned him a silver medal and contributed eight team points for Miami.
Senior Andreas Christodoulou finished fifth in the men’s decathlon. Throughout the competition, he achieved a first-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.82 seconds, placed fourth in the discus throw, and secured second in the pole vault with a height of 4.50 meters. He concluded the decathlon with a second-place finish in the javelin but did not complete the 1500-meter run. Christodoulou earned four team points for Miami.
The Miami women earned seven points in the shot put, with Zakiya Rashid and Debbie Ajagbe recording notable performances. Rashid finished fourth with a personal-best throw of 15.57 meters, while Ajagbe recorded a season-best mark of 15.42 meters, finishing seventh. Hannah-Sophia Hall and Sherry Lubin also competed, recording distances of 14.23 meters and 13.79 meters, respectively.
In the hurdles, sophomore Tiara McMinn made a significant impression in her first event of the weekend, recording a personal-best time of 12.96 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles to qualify for Saturday’s final. Her performance ranks as the fourth-fastest in Miami program history. Atherley also qualified for the final with a time of 13.18 seconds.
Brittny Ellis advanced to her second final of the championships by placing third in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 53.57 seconds. Additionally, Carolyn Brown and Alfreda Steele qualified for the finals in the 100-meter dash, finishing fourth and seventh in the preliminaries. Brown’s time of 11.38 seconds was a personal best.
Junior Raheem Chambers posted the fastest qualifying time in the men’s 100-meter dash, running 10.09 seconds, which is currently the second-fastest in Miami history.
Finally, sophomore Kayla Johnson advanced to the finals in the 800-meter run with a third-place finish, clocking in at 2:06.47.
As the championships progress into the final day, both the men’s and women’s teams are currently tied for 11th place. The women have accumulated 17 points, while the men have 12 points. Florida State’s women lead with 39 points, and Virginia’s men are in first with 77 points.
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