@MiamiTrack Excels at UF Tom Jones Meet
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program had a strong showing at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational on the University of Florida campus.
Alysha Newman, Gabrielle Hesslau and Precious Ogunleye had Miami’s three victories, while several Hurricanes posted personal-bests on Friday at Percy Beard Track.
The women’s 4x100m relay of Kayann Richards, Shakima Wimbley, Trishelle Leacock and Lateisha Philson kicked of the running events for the Canes, placing fifth with a time of 45.01 seconds.
Gabrielle Hesslau won the women’s 3000m with a personal-best time of 10:00.29 that ranks second in UM history.
Shakima Wimbley finished ninth in the women’s 400m with a time of 52.97 seconds, while Kelsey Balkwill was 17th in the women’s 200m with a personal-best time of 24.12 seconds.
Jamika Glades finished third in the women’s 400m hurdles with a time of 58.57 seconds, while Amy Taintor ran a personal-best time of 1:01.58 in the 400m hurdles.
Douglas Dourado ran a personal-best time of 1:53.69 seconds to finish 11th in the men’s 800m, while Zack Garland placed 12th with a personal best time of 1:53.86.
The Hurricane relay teams closed out the meet with solid showings on both the men’s and women’s sides. Miami’s men’s 4x400m relay of Joseph Ryan, Henri Delauze, Christian Cook and Anthony Wolliston combined to finish eighth for a time of 3:09.63, fifth best in UM history, while the women’s 4x400m relay of Jamika Glades, Kelsey Balkwill, Shakima Wimbley and Anthonia Moore combined to place fourth with a time of 3:37.09.
“I am pleased to see our men’s 4×400 relay getting better each meet,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “The continue to show pride and determination to be one of the conference’s best teams.”
Miami’s success was not limited to the track, as the Hurricanes had two wins in the field events and several strong finishes.
Alysha Newman was the winner of the women’s pole vault, posting a season-best mark of 4.30m. On the men’s side, Nick Catchur posted a personal-best mark of 4.77m.
“Having Alysha returning to form is not only big for her, but also for our team,” Deem said.
Precious Ogunleye won the women’s hammer with a throw of 60.33m, while teammates Lea Johnson (58.33m) and Tiffany Okieme (57.17m) finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Ogunleye also placed fourth in the women’s discus with a throw of 49.73m and finished fifth in the shot put with a throw of 13.55m.
“I’m excited to see Precious throwing so well,” Deem said. “She has been consistent to this point and I look for her to have some big throws in May.”
John-Patrick Friday finished fourth in the men’s high jump, clearing 2.02m, while Bailey Vitatoe tied for seventh with a mark of 1.97m.
Carlos Mangum placed third in the men’s hammer with a throw of 62.47m. Daniel Polinski finished third in the men’s shot put with a throw of 16.25m and placed eighth in the discus with a throw of 46.39m.
“Moving forward to the championship season, we need everyone to perform at a higher level if we want to reach our goals,” Deem said.
Following this weekend’s trip to Gainesville, Miami will head to LSU on May 2 for their final meet before the ACC Outdoor Championships on May 14-16. The stakes only get higher after the conference meet as Miami will head to the NCAA East Preliminary and the NCAA Championships to close out a stellar 2015 outdoor season.
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.
