Maryland Opens Season at Penn State Relays

1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field

By: Maryland Athletics

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland track and field team opens its season at the Penn State Relays this Saturday at the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. Competition will being at 10 a.m.

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Twitter: @MarylandTrack

Leading off

Senior Chioma Onyekwere enters her senior season as one of the top throwers in the Big Ten. The Fairfax, Va., native earned All-Big Ten honors indoor last season after a second place finish in the shot put at the Big Ten Championships. She tossed a mark of 52' 8.25” at the event, the second-best throw in Maryland history.

Junior Micha Powell will look to build on an outdoor season that saw her qualify for the NCAA East Regional and place her name in Maryland's record books. Powell clocked 54.45 at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, the fifth-best time in Maryland history in the 400m. She supplemented that with a summer that included a trip to the Canadian National Championships where she ran a career best 53.36.

Sophomore Peyton Wade also had an outstanding summer, notching a lifetime best at the USA Junior Trials in the heptathlon. She placed fourth with a score of 5,123 points.

Junior Lisa Meneau will be a threat in the hurdles. The Winchester, Va., native clocked 8.57 at the Big Indoor Championships last season which represented the fifth-best time in Maryland history.

Senior Dan Trettel has made his mark in the Maryland record books in the 800m, clocking the seventh-best time (1:53.62) in program history in 2015.

In the distance events, junior Tom Hogarty and sophomore Louis Corgliano will anchor the Terps after a solid 2015 campaigns.

New Additions

Maryland will debut a section of its strong men's recruiting class along with some newcomers on the women's side this weekend.
Freshman Hazem Miawad comes to College Park after earning All-American honors twice in high school as one of the top middle distance runners in the country. Freshman jumper Drew Alfano won a New York state championship in the Pentathlon as a high school senior and could also make an immediate impact this weekend. Fellow freshmen TJ Bleichner and Carlos Vanzego will also be in action.
Graduate transfer Johnna Dominick highlights the debuts on the women's side. The former Virginia Tech jumper finished fourth at the ACC Championships in 2014. Freshmen Jewel Smith and Thaila Cooper, along with sophomore Deborah Olawuni will also suit up for the Terps.