Six Canes Secure Trips to NCAAs in Oregon
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After strong performances Friday, six Hurricanes earned trips to Eugene, Oregon for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Three runners and three field event participants advanced for the Hurricanes, giving the University of Miami track and field program seven spots in the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships after two days at the NCAA East Preliminary.
“I was so happy for the team tonight,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “We hit on almost every event with the exception of one. To see such big performances from Amber, Alyssa, Dakota, Alysha, a huge PR from Thandi and Shakima coming in as a freshmen with the pressure of being a top runner. It was almost a perfect night. The girls competed hard and ran with confidence. I’m really excited for the way they stepped up.”
Alysha Newman became the second Hurricane to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, joining junior thrower Lea Johnson. Newman, a sophomore, secured one of the 12 spots advancing from the NCAA East preliminary in women’s pole vault by clearing 4.20m.
“It’s a relief to redeem myself from last season, when I failed to advance,” Newman said. “I feel extremely confident and the things Coach [Jerel] Langley and I have been working on are really starting to click. I hope to improve upon my finish indoors and score more points for the team at nationals.”
Shakima Wimbley also punched her ticket to Oregon, winning Heat 3 of the women’s 400m quarterfinals with a time of 51.81 seconds.
“It’s shocking and I am really excited,” Wimbley said. “This brings a joy to me that I’ve never felt. I am so happy to make it as a freshman.”
Alyssa McClure advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships after placing third in Heat 2 of the women’s 100m quarterfinals. The senior’s time of 11.44 seconds is a personal-best and ranks fifth in UM history.
“It’s an honor,” McClure said of advancing to Oregon. “I really didn’t think that I could do that. Coach Deem told me to have confidence because they have confidence in me. I put the race together and it came out the way I wanted.”
Thandi Stewart set a school record in the women’s 800m while securing a spot in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The senior finished second in Heat 3 of the women’s 800m with a personal-best time of 2:04.06. It is her second trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships after finishing fourth in the 400m hurdles in 2012.
“I was fortunate to be one of the last events of the day because all the good news inspired me to run hard for God and my team,” Stewart said. “I was so proud of them and fought hard to join them in Oregon.”
Amber Monroe advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in women’s discus with a personal-best mark of 54.79m. The junior’s throw earned her seventh place at the NCAA East Preliminary and ranks second in UM history. It is her second time reaching the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
“Discus is something I struggled with for a while, but it’s always been my favorite. It feels good to PR and make it to Oregon. My freshman year I went, but didn’t do what I wanted. This year I want to keep going and keep PRing because I want to be one of the top girls.”
Dakota Dailey-Harris was Miami’s final student-athlete to advance on Friday, clearing 1.77m. The sophomore was one of three competitors to emerge from a jump off, securing one of the 12 spots from the East Preliminary and advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
“It was my first jump off so I didn’t know what to expect,” Dailey-Harris said. “Coach told me to calm down and I stayed ready. There were other girls in the competition with me and it’s not over until the officials say so. Coach L told me there was a chance I could be jumping against two or three others. I was ready and I’m glad it ended up the way it did.”
Jamika Glades ran the women’s 400m hurdles in 58.15 seconds, Kayann Richards ran the women’s 100m hurdles in 13.95 seconds and John-Patrick Friday posted a mark of 14.89m in the men’s triple jump, but they did not advance.
Saturday is the final day of the 2014 East Preliminary and the Canes will have three competitors in the field events as Isaiah Simmons and Gian Piero Ragonesi will participate in the men’s discus, while Monroe will compete in the women’s shot put. The Hurricanes will compete in the first and last running events on Friday as the men’s 4x100m relay of Bassim El-Sabawi, TeQuille Jackson, Josh Johnson and Anthony Wolliston hit the track at 6 p.m. ET, while the women’s 4x400m relay of Taniesha Cordell, Glades, Stewart, Alaine Tate, Wimbley and Anthonia Moore are scheduled to run at 9:45 p.m. ET.
The Preliminary championships competitions will be held May 29-31. The East region is competing at North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, and the West region at Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The qualifiers out of these regions will compete in the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon.
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