@MiamiTrack Closes Out Tyson Invitational

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Miami track and field program closed out its stay at the 2015 Tyson Invitational with another solid day of competition.

Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem was happy with the Canes’ effort, but knows the team needs to focus on improvement heading into the ACC Indoor Championships in two weeks.

“I thought we competed hard,” Deem said. “Of all the meets this year, this one was the one where things just didn’t go the way we had hoped. We weren’t as sharp as I wanted to be in some events. But we’ve had three great meets up tot this point so I would rather have it happen this week because I think that will set us up and help us refocus for the ACC Championships in two weeks.”

Sophomore Gian Piero Ragonesi finished eighth in the men’s shot put with a personal-best mark of 17.68m that ranks second in UM history. Freshman Daniel Polinski, who placed 20^th, threw a personal-best mark of 16.32m that ranks fourth in UM history.

“I knew I needed to have a big throw this weekend and it’s great that I did it,” Ragonesi said. “It’s been a tough season for me, but I feel good about what is to come at ACCs. I think we are all building up for conference.”

The women’s 4x400m relay team of Kelsey Balkwill, Taneisha Cordell, Shakima WImbley and Anthonia Moore combined for a seventh place finish with a time of 3:35.36. Miami’s men’s 4x400m relay team of Robert Grant, Anthony Wolliston, Henri Delauze and Joseph Ryan combined to run a time of 3:14.64.

Four Canes placed third in their respective heats in the men’s 200m dash. Freshman Jaalen Jones ran the fastest time, 21.49 seconds, followed by freshman Robert Grant’s 21.90 seconds, sophomore Josh Johnson’s personal-best time of 22.07 seconds and Henri Delauze’s personal-best time of 22.23 seconds.

Freshman David Njoku moved into fourth place on UM’s all-time indoor high jump list, clearing 2.06m to finish tied for fifth in the men’s high jump. On the women’s side, junior Dakota Dailey-Harris cleared 1.72m to finish 10^th.

“The kids competed hard and had good attitudes, but I just thought we made some mistakes that we hadn’t made and weren’t quiet as sharp as we needed to be this weekend,” Deem said. “But we will get back to work and get ready for ACCs.”

Miami is back in action in two weeks, competing at the ACC Indoor Championships in Blacksburg, Va., on Feb. 27-28.

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