Miami Women Host RedHawk Invitational, Three Compete at Drake Relays
4/26/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
April 26, 2012
RedHawk Invitational: Schedule of Events | Heat Sheets
Drake Relays: Heat Sheets | Schedule of Events |
OXFORD, Ohio - Three RedHawks head to Des Moines, Iowa this weekend for the famed Drake Relays while the rest of the Miami University women's track and field team will stay at home and host the RedHawk Invitational Saturday at George Rider Track. The RedHawk Invitational is Miami's third and final home meet of the year, after hosting the Miami Invitational April 6-7 and the All-Ohio Championships last weekend.
The trio of `Hawks competing at the Drake Relays are seniors Kelley Miller (Dublin, Ohio) and Alexandra Roberts (Hilliard, Ohio) and sophomore Tori Paterra (Elizabeth, Pa.). Roberts is the first to perform, doing so in the shot put at 12:30 p.m. ET Friday in a field of 30. Paterra also throws Friday in the javelin at 3 p.m. ET as she is one of 27 participants in the event. Miller then rounds out Miami's events at the Drake Relays as she runs in the 1500m Saturday at 6:01 p.m. ET against 19 other collegiate women. A complete listing of heat sheets are available here.
After hosting well over 30 teams for each of Miami's first two home meets this year, the RedHawk Invitational will have a smaller feel with select athletes from schools such as Ohio State, Dayton, Cincinnati, Cedarville, Central State, Northern Kentucky and Mid-American Conference foe Ball State, among others, in attendance. Team scoring will not be kept.
The meet begins at 11 a.m. with the hammer throw and long jump while the 5000m run at noon is the first race on the track. The javelin is the final women's field event to get underway at 2 p.m. while the meet concludes at 3:20 p.m. with the 4x400m relay. A complete schedule can be found here. Admission to George Rider Track is free and heat sheets will be available for fans.
Last weekend, the RedHawks took runner-up honors in front of the home crowd at the All-Ohio Championships, behind only Cincinnati. Redshirt sophomore Ashley Zaper (Whitehouse, Ohio) led the way, winning the heptathlon while taking part in the seven-event competition for the first time. Sophomore Erica Mudd (Cincinnati, Ohio) placed third also in her first heptathlon. Senior Rachael Clay (Rossford, Ohio) captured the 400m dash in the seventh-fastest time in school history while classmate Diona Graves (Fenton, Mo.) crossed first in the 100m dash. Freshman Jess Hoover (Hilliard, Ohio) just edged out junior Monica Fischer (Cincinnati, Ohio) at the finish for the top two spots in the 1500m. Paterra was the runner-up in the javelin with a season-best throw while Roberts was second in the shot put with the second-best throw in school history behind her own record. Freshman Elisa Frazier (Williamsville, N.Y.) claimed second in the 3K steeplechase and now ranks fourth in school history while redshirt freshman Melissa Girgis (Worthington, Ohio) was second in the 10,000m run. Graves and Clay also teamed up with freshman Charlotte Myers (Bexley, Ohio) and sophomore Leah Coleman (Westerville, Ohio) to break the school record in the 4x400m relay (3:40.90) as they finished second in the race.
Most RedHawks did not compete at last year's RedHawk Invitational, as the sprinters, distance runners and jumpers were at the Hillsdale Relays in Michigan. Of those that did stay in Oxford, Roberts took second in the shot put while Paterra won the javelin, but neither while compete at the meet this weekend as they'll be at the Drake Relays. Junior Samantha Gable (Greenfield, Ind.), who's redshirting this year, won the hammer throw as well. Sophomore Erin Riley (Avon Lake, Ohio) took first in the 800m run while classmate Sarah Tirrell (North Canton, Ohio) was the runner-up in the 5K. Miller won the 3K steeplechase but competed unattached as she was redshirting and will not run at home this weekend.
With just two weeks until the MAC Championships, several RedHawks rank near the top of the MAC in their respective events. Miller boasts the top 1500m time (4:24.71) while Frazier holds the top 3K steeplechase time after the All-Ohio meet (10:47.42) and classmate Alex Chitwood (Carmel, Ind.) ranks second (10:55.13). Senior Jillian Dickman (Madison, Ohio) ranks second in the 3000m run while junior Layne Baggett (Pittsburgh, Pa.) ties for second in the 100m hurdles (13.69). Graves is fourth in the 100m dash (11.86) while Clay is fourth in the 400m dash (54.43) and Girgis is fourth in the 10K after last weekend (36:59.98). In field events, Paterra has the top javelin throw (159-0), which she posted last weekend, while Roberts is second in the shot put with her school-record throw of 51-5.75. Mudd and Graves rank third and fourth, respectively, in the long jump (18-10.5 and 18-10) while Zaper and Mudd tie for fifth in the high jump, each clearing 5-5.75. Zaper also has the second-best heptathlon score (4,876) after the All-Ohio meet.
Following the RedHawk Invitational, Miami competes in one final tune-up before the MAC Championships as the RedHawks head to Bloomington, Ind. for the Billy Hayes Invitational, hosted by Indiana University on Friday, May 4.
--MURedHawks.com--
