@MiamiTrack Honors Seniors at #UMAlumniMeet
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program closed out the Hurricane Alumni Invitational with a strong showing on the track and in the field events.
“I’m really pleased with where we are as a team,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “We are getting better each week and the pieces to the puzzle are starting to come together. We have a few more things to work on, but I am really excited where this time is going. I am pretty optimistic about the things we can do at the Tom Jones Meet and at LSU.”
Miami’s 4x100m relay team of Kayann Richards, Shakima Wimbley, Trishelle Leacock and Kelsey Balkwill combined for a time of 44.82 seconds to place second overall and turn in the top collegiate time. The men’s 4x100m relay of Josh Johnson, Anthony Wolliston, Robert Grant and Christian Cook combined for a time of 43.64 seconds.
Jamika Glades won the women’s 100m hurdles with a time of 13.43 seconds, while Kayann Richards won Heat 2 of the women’s 100m hurdles and finished fifth overall with a time of 13.68 seconds. On the men’s side, Christian Cook finished fourth in the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 14.00 seconds. Former Miami All-American Cory Nelms placed fifth with a time of 14.02 seconds.
Glades also was strong in the 400m hurdles, finishing second with a personal-best time of 57.51 seconds. Senior Kelsey Balkwill placed third with a time of 58.94 seconds, while Robert Grant placed third in the men’s 400m hurdles with a time of 52.51 seconds and Ibrahim Dodo finished fifth with a time of 54.56 seconds.
Shakima Wimbley was the top collegian in the women’s 200m, finishing second with a personal-best time of 23.08 seconds that ties her for fourth in UM history with Krista Simkins. On the men’s side, Anthony Wolliston was the top Cane with a 10th place finish, turning in a personal-best time of 21.61 seconds.
“Kima had a great 200,” Deem said. “There is still more there, but it was a good effort from her. We had a lot of personal bests today, Jamika had a good day in the hurdles and we still have a lot of track to go this season.”
Douglas Dourado finished third in the men’s 1500m run with a personal-best time of 3:56.51, while Sean Grossman finished sixth and Jon Keller placed eighth to give Miami three finishers in the top 10. Senior Julia Koch finished 15th in the women’s 1500m with a time of 5:49.20.
Joseph Ryan placed eighth in the men’s 400m with a personal-best time of 48.64 seconds, while Taneisha Cordell finished fourth in the women’s 800m with a time of 2:08.84. Sean Grossman finished fourth in the men’s 3000m with a time of 8:49.93.
Miami also excelled in the field and multi-events, led off my freshman Amy Taintor’s second place finish in the women’s heptathlon. Her 4,853 points moved Taintor into third place in UM history. The freshman closed out the heptathlon with a strong showing Saturday, tying for first in the long jump (5.57m) and finishing second in the 800m (2:17.85) and third in the javelin (26.21m). By eclipsing 4,800 points, Taintor qualified for the 2015 USA Junior Championships.
Alysha Newman won the women’s pole vault, clearing a height of 4.15m, while Nick Catchur finished third in the men’s pole vault with a mark of 4.60m.
Alexis Wright placed third in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 11.95m, while Niara Hilla finished sixth with a jump of 11.66m.
Freshman David Njoku placed third in the men’s high jump, clearing 2.04m, while junior Dakota Dailey-Harris finished fourth in the women’s high jump with a mark of 1.70m.
Precious Ogunleye won the women’s discus with a throw of 49.30m, while Tiffany Okieme won the women’s shot put with a throw of 14.83m.
“I am really happy with Precious,” Deem said. “It’s never easy to lose a senior like Lea, but Precious is definitely pushing and stepping up in two events after redshirting last year.”
On the men’s side, Gian Piero Ragonesi finished third in the men’s shot put with a personal-best throw of 17.67m that ranks third in school history, while Daniel Polinski finished seventh with a personal-best mark of 16.65m that ranks fourth in UM history. Ragonesi also finished second in the men’s discus with a throw of 54.48m, while Polinski placed ninth with a throw of 45.97m
Beyond the track and field events, male seniors Christian Cook, Innocent Jacob and AJ Ricketts and female seniors Kelsey Balkwill, Taneisha Cordell, Ally Finical, Jokira Jiles, Lea Johnson, Julia Koch, Kayann Richards and Shannon Wright each received a framed Miami track jersey and were recognized for their contributions to the program in an on-field senior day ceremony.
“Seeing all our alumni back is great,” Deem said. “A week ago, Shakima broke Charlette Greggs’ record and now Charlette is here with her kids. I really enjoy this meet and wish I had more time to see everybody that came back. It’s great that our alumni are out in strong numbers and supporting the team.”
For all the latest information on the Miami Hurricanes, follow the official Twitter feed, @MiamiHurricanes, 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. The program is also on Instagram.
