@MiamiTrack Wins Five Golds on Day 3 of ACCs
CLEMSON, S.C. – The University of Miami track and field program finished strong at the 2014 ACC Indoor Championships, adding five individual titles to its trophy case.
Artie Burns, Amber Monroe, Isaiah Simmons, Shakima Wimbley and the women’s 4x400m relay joined Lea Johnson as Hurricanes who won 2014 ACC indoor championships.
While all of Miami’s champions excelled on Saturday, Wimbley’s performance was noteworthy because she overcame adversity to reach the top of the medal stand.
The standout freshman wrapped up the 400m final just four-hundredths of a second behind Virginia’s Jordan Lavender. Wimbley posted a personal-best time of 52.79 seconds and appeared to have earned a silver medal in her first event of the day. But the joy Wimbley felt soon turn to disappointment as the Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., native was disqualified.
“From what I heard, I cut over too fast and I may have stepped on the line,” Wimbley said. “Altogether, I felt I had a great race. Even though I won’t make it to nationals because my time won’t count, I am glad to know I am one of the best in the nation.”
Wimbley did not dwell on the disappointment for long, entering the women’s 200m final as the top seed and finishing a champion. The standout sprinter blazed down the track in 23.58 seconds to join Tarika Williams (2011), Murielle Ahoure (2009), Krista Simkins (2008) and Dominque Darden (2005) as Canes who have won the 200m ACC indoor title.
“Good things are not always going to happen,” Wimbley said. “You have to take the good with the bad. I was able to suck it up and focus on the next race. I knew I had to keep my mind strong for my team.”
Amy Deem, Miami’s director of track and field/cross country, was very impressed with how Wimbley was able to bounce back from the disappointment of having her second-place finish in the 400m taken away and to finish strong in the 200m.
“Unbelievable for a freshman,” Deem said. “She broke down in my arms when I had to tell her about the disqualification. I went to protest it and the staff did a really good job of getting her back together and she did a great job of regrouping for that 200m. That shows the athlete that she is going to be as she matures. She was able to put it behind her. It appeared that she ran a lifetime-best and put herself on top of the NCAA list and then to have it taken away was very disheartening for all of us. The way she handled it showed true character of a champion and I look for her to have many championships at Miami before her career is over.”
Wimbley also played a key role in Miami securing its first gold medal in the women’s 4x400m relay since 2006. The freshman teamed with Kelsey Balkwill, Taneisha Cordell and Jamika Glades to run a 3:38.54, giving the Hurricane women their final 10 points of the 2014 ACC Indoor Championships.
“I thought the girls ran really tough and they fought,” Miami director of Track and Field/cross country Amy Deem said. “Today is about winning ACC championships. For them to go out and basically win from start to finish and take ownership in the event is great. I am very proud of how they performed.”
Like Wimbley, Burns entered the men’s 60m hurdles final as the top seed and the freshman finished the race as the 2014 ACC indoor champion. Burns’ time of 7.74 seconds was five-hundredths better than second place finisher Drequan Hoskey of Virginia.
“It feels great to come in fresh from high school and do this,” Burns said. “It’s big for my confidence going into nationals.”
Burns is the third Hurricane to win the ACC Indoor Championship in men’s 60m HH, joining Devon Hill (2010-11) and Cory Nelms (2009). The American Junior record holder scored 10 points for Miami’s men, while teammate Christian Cook added two more with his seventh-place finish in the 60m HH (7.95).
Miami also excelled in the field events, winning both the men’s and women’s shot put.
Monroe secured the women’s shot put championship with a personal-best throw of 17.18m. The junior’s mark ranks fifth in the country and second in school history.
“We changed her technique to the spin this year and some things are starting to click,” Miami associate head coach Cory Young said. “She is a relentless worker. We hit it hard in the weight room to get her stronger and she is a very tall, athletic girl that can do big things when she lines everything up. I think there is more there. We still have more room for her to improve upon.”
Monroe, who scored 10 points for the Hurricane women, joins Miami record holder Kimberli Barrett (2005) as the only women’s shot put ACC indoor champions in UM history.
“I’m still shocked,” Monroe said. “I went into this competition looking to score points and get on the podium. It’s crazy though and I still don’t believe it. I have been working hard at the shot. This feels great.”
While Monroe was a surprise winner, Simmons entered Saturday’s men’s shot put final as the clear favorite. The defending ACC indoor shot put champion reclaimed his spot atop the medal stand with a throw of 18.66m.
“This year I had a lot more confidence just based off what I did in the previous meet in Albuquerque and breaking the school indoor record again,” Simmons said. “Setting myself with an indoor personal-best, I wanted to build off that. My expectations were to get a winning throw and try to move up the national list.”
Freshman Gian Ragonesi joined Simmons on the podium, finishing third with a personal-best mark of 17.46m that ranks second in Miami history. The duo combined to earn 16 points for Miami’s men’s team. With his mark, Ragonesi qualifies for the World Junior Championships.
“As long as they buy in and trust what we’re doing, good things are going to happen,” Young said. “This weekend is a big product of that. All the kids did very well.”
Five other student-athletes scored for the Hurricanes Saturday. Alysha Newman, Alyssa McClure and Alaine Tate combined to score 12 points for the women, while Phillip Dorsett and Timothy Richardson added six points for the men.
Newman set a new school record in the women’s pole vault, clearing a personal-best 4.35m to finish third. McClure placed fifth in women’s 60m final with a season-best time of 7.47 seconds, while Tate finished seventh in the women’s 800m final with a time of 2:10.18.
A day after scoring in the men’s long jump, Richardson set an indoor-best in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 14.62m that placed him fifth. Dorsett earned a seventh-place finish in the men’s 60m final with a time of 6.86 seconds that was just one-hundredth behind his season-best of 6.85, set in preliminaries on Friday.
Miami finished the weekend with 11 different student-athletes named All-ACC for the 2014 indoor season. The top three finishers in each individual event and the members of each gold medal relay team earned all-conference distinction.
The Hurricanes, who finished with six individual champions in 2014, also had success in the team standings. Miami’s women placed fourth with 62 points. It was the women’s best finish since they placed fourth in 2008, but Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem thought they could have cracked the top three.
“I am a little disappointed because I thought we left some points on the board,” Deem said. “You always want to win, but our goal was to be a top 3 team and we fell a little bit short.”
Miami’s men finished ninth with 39 points. The Hurricane men scored the most points at the ACC Indoor Championships in program history, surpassing the previous best of 36 (2006).
“I am really excited overall with how we did this weekend,” Deem said. “On the men’s side we scored the most points since joining the ACC. I am very excited about the future there.”
Deem believes the strong showing at the ACC Indoor Championships will help propel the Canes to success in the upcoming outdoor season.
“Our kids are ready for outdoors,” Deem said. “They will come into the season with a lot of confidence and determination to be one of the top teams at the ACC Outdoor Championships.”
For all the latest information on the Miami Hurricanes, follow the official Twitter feed, @HurricaneSports, or “Like Us” on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes. Follow @MiamiTrack on Twitter for specific news on UM track and field and cross country. For the most accurate and up to date information delivered to your phone, download the official Miami Hurricanes app for your Droid or iPhone.
