Historic Field Event Marks Propel Tigers at Florida Relays
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A pair of No. 8 all-time performances from Harleigh White and Danielle Sloley in the women’s triple jump and shot put, respectively, proved to be the highlights of Saturday’s action for the Clemson track and field program as the 2021 Florida Relays concluded this afternoon. In total, the Tigers had six top-five finishes during the final day of competition, including one event victory courtesy of Roje Stona in the men’s discus.
“[This weekend] gave our kids a good idea of what they can expect at the end of the season,” said Clemson’s Director of Track & Field, Mark Elliott. “There were a lot of teams at the meet that are ranked high nationally, and they are the competition we want to test ourselves against. I was excited that we got to do that.”
White soared into Clemson’s record book this afternoon by becoming the Tigers’ No. 8 all-time performer in the women’s triple jump after earning a mark of 13.07 meters (42-10.75) on her third trip down the runway. White entered the day with a best of 13.03m set during the 2021 ACC Indoor Championships. White’s mark on Saturday was recorded with no wind and made her just the 11th Tiger to ever break 13 meters in the event.
For the third consecutive meet, Sloley recorded a top-10 mark in the women’s shot put, improving her lifetime best this afternoon to 14.71m (48-3.25) and becoming No. 8 all-time at Clemson. Sloley entered the weekend with a personal best of 14.50m (47-7) set during the 2021 ACC Indoor Championships.
Veronica Fraley was Clemson’s top finisher in the women’s shot put this afternoon, placing 7th overall following her second-round mark of 15.71m (51-6.5).
“Their [Harleigh and Danielle] performances show the depth of our team,” added Elliott. “When you’re trying to build a balanced team, you’re excited when you have performances coming from the jumps and throws, and of course on the track as well.”
Roje Stona captured his second discus victory in as many meets this season, hitting a mark of 59.98m (196-9) on his sixth and final attempt during this morning’s competition. Stona’s series today was 48.31m-X-56.18m-59.24m-59.64m-59.98m. With today’s second-place finisher only throwing 56.06m, Stona captured his second consecutive victory this season with a margin of victory greater than three meters.
Lafranz Campbell finished 5th overall in the men’s 110m hurdles, leading a contingent of three Tigers in the final. Campbell ran 13.93 seconds and was joined in the event’s final by Devon Brooks (13.94) and Giano Roberts (14.07). During the final, athletes faced a headwind of 1.3 meters-per-second. The trio advanced from the prelims earlier in the day after each athlete ran a season’s best. Campbell was the third-fastest qualifier with his time of 13.77, while Brooks ran 13.86 and Roberts ran 14.06.
Marcus Parker finished 3rd overall in the men’s 100m, running 10.44 into a headwind (-0.2 m/s) during the event’s opening heat. Parker was joined in the event’s heats by Fabian Hewitt (10.69), Roberts (10.71) and Campbell (10.78). Roberts’ time was a personal best and came during his debut in the event for Clemson.
Trishauna Hemmings was the fastest Tiger on Saturday in the women’s 100m hurdles, as Hemmings ran 13.55 to finish 10th overall and cross the line just shy of her all-conditions personal best of 13.54 (2.2 m/s). Sidney Marshall and Kori Carter joined Hemmings by running 13.86 and 14.10, respectively.
Kamryn McIntosh led the Tigers during the women’s 400m, running a season’s best time of 54.67 during Saturday’s second heat. Courtney Williams set a new personal best by one-hundredth of a second, running 54.86 to finish 3rd in her heat. Ken’Naria Gadson finished 5th in her heat after earning a season’s best mark of 55.85. Kameron Jones was Clemson’s lone finisher in the men’s 400m, running 46.92 to finish 7th overall in the event.
Leah Disher led Clemson in the women’s 800m, running a lifetime best of 2:09.21 to finish 11th overall. Disher was joined in finding success in the half-mile this afternoon by Sydney Collins (2:14.46) and Meredith Finley (2:16.96). Collins’ time served as a season’s best, while Finley’s was a collegiate-best.
The women’s 4x100m relay ran a season’s best mark of 44.44 and was made up of Serena Clark, Antoinette van der Merve, Aliyah Mallard and Zeniyah Lawrence. Later in the day, van der Merwe equaled her season’s best time in the women’s 100m by running a wind-legal 11.75 to finish 9th overall.
Freshman Carson Tillman was Clemson’s lone representative in the men’s 800m. Tillman ran 1:54.98 by running 400m splits of 54.02-1:00.96. Jackson Leech represented Clemson in the men’s 3,000m, as Leech made his outdoor debut with Clemson by running 8:57.39.
The Tigers ran a pair of 4x400m relays on the women’s side, with the Tigers’ “A” team running 3:39.50 to finish 7th overall. The men’s 4x400m relay crossed the line in 6th to conclude this weekend’s competition at the Florida Relays.
The Clemson track and field program will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for its next competition, as the Tigers will compete at the Tennessee Relays from April 9-10.
For all of the most up-to-date information regarding Clemson’s Track & Field program, be sure to reference clemsontigers.com and follow @ClemsonTrackXC on Twitter.
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Photo courtesy of Alexis Greaves, University of Florida.
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