Throwers Lead @MiamiTrack on Day 1 at ACCs
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program got off to a strong start at the 2015 ACC Outdoor Championships.
The Hurricane throwers combined for 20 points on the opening day of the three-day conference championship at Mike Long Track on the campus of Florida State University.
“I was really pleased with how we performed today,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “I think they are really fired up. You almost come to expect it in the throws with the girls. They scored 19 points for us and that’s huge.”
Miami’s women picked up 19 points in the women’s hammer, led by 2015 ACC champion Precious Ogunleye. The junior’s throw of 59.05m picked up 10 points for the Hurricane women and earned the junior her first ACC championship.
“It means a lot to me,” Ogunleye said. “It was nice to be able to compete hard for my team. All three of us scored and it was great to get the win and help our team get off to a good start.”
Ogunleye assured that the title would remain in Coral Gables, winning one year after teammate Lea Johnson, who placed fifth in this year’s competition. Junior Tiffany Okieme also scored for Miami, placing fourth with a throw of 57.48m.
“I am happy for Precious,” Deem said.” It’s been a long season for her with having to redshirt the indoor season, so I am happy to have her come out and win the hammer. It’s kind of bittersweet to lose Lea. I am excited for her to go to medical school, but she will be a big loss for our team because she is so consistent.”
On the men’s side, sophomore Carlos Mangum scored a point for Hurricanes, placing eighth in the hammer with a throw of 59.98m.
I know that Carlos was a little disappointed with his performance,” Deem said. “But he scored and that’s what the conference meet is about, scoring points.“
John-Patrick Friday also picked up points for Miami’s men, placing fifth in the men’s long jump with a mark of 7.47m. The junior scored four points for the Hurricane men and his mark moved him into fifth place in UM history.
While five Canes scored on the opening day of the 2015 ACC Outdoor Championships, five others had standout performances.
Shakima Wimbley is the top qualifier in the women’s 200m with a personal-best time of 22.99 seconds that ranks fourth in UM history.
Two Hurricane women advanced to the finals in the 400m hurdles as Jamika Glades and Kelsey Balkwill each won their respective heat to earn an automatic qualification. Glades won Heat 2 with a time of 59.45 seconds, while Kelsey Balkwill won Heat 4 with a time of 58.93 seconds. Miami also had one qualifier in the men’s 400m hurdles as Christian Cook earned an at-large bid with a time of 52.87 seconds.
“We did what we had to do today in both the 200m and 400m hurdles,” Deem said. “It was Shakima’s personal-best and it was an easy, relaxed run so I am looking forward to what she can do the rest of the weekend.”
Amy Taintor opened the heptathlon with a personal-best time of 14.89 seconds in the women’s 100m hurdles. She also threw a personal-best 11.47m in the shot put to place sixth in the event. Through four events, Taintor is in seventh place with 3,011 points.
Sean Grossman ran a personal-best time of 3:59.24 in the men’s 1500m, but did not advance to the final.
Through three events, the women’s team is in first place with 19 points and the men’s team is in ninth place with five points.
Competition begins Friday at 10:30 a.m. with the women’s javelin. Other highlights include the final three stages of the women’s heptathlon, and other field events, including the men’s and women’s shot put competition. The women’s 100-meter hurdles preliminaries open the day’s running events at 5:45 p.m., followed by the men’s 110-meter hurdles, the 400m, 100m and 800m.
ESPN3 coverage will be streamed lived on theACC.com from 7-9:30 p.m. on Friday, May 15; and from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, May 16, with Tom Block handling play-by-play and former Olympic gold medalist and decathlon world record holder Dan O’Brien serving as analyst.
Following this weekend’s trip to Tallahassee, the Hurricanes will focus on preparing for the NCAA East Preliminary and the NCAA Championships to close out a stellar 2015 outdoor season.
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