@MiamiTrack Sends Two More to NCAAs in Oregon
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two members of the University of Miami track and field program earned trips to the NCAA Championships on Friday.
Shakima Wimbley and Kelsey Balkwill earned trips to Eugene, Oregon, while two others advanced to the quarterfinal in their event on the second day of the 2015 NCAA East Preliminary.
“I thought it was a good day,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “I was hoping for a little bit more, but I was proud of Shakima and Kelsey.”
Wimbley will return to the NCAA Championships after winning Heat 2 of the women’s 400m quarterfinals with a time of 51.23 seconds. The sophomore, who entered the NCAA East Preliminary with the fastest time in the NCAA (50.84), earned one of 12 spot headed to Oregon from this weekend’s meet.
“It’s a great feeling,” Wimbley said. “I didn’t do as well as I wanted to last year so making it back was one of my biggest goals. I’ve been working hard and focused on this all year. Now I want to do as well as I can and become an All-American.”
“Shakima ran really well today,” Deem said. “For the first time in this setting, she was able to run her race regardless of what is going on in her heat. That shows maturity and an ability to react at different parts of the race and that is exciting.”
Balkwill is also headed to Eugene after winning Heat 2 of the women’s 400m hurdles with a personal-best time of 56.80 seconds. The senior is Miami’s third student-athlete to qualify for the NCAA Championships at the 2015 NCAA East Preliminary.
“Kelsey was pure guts,” Deem said. “To be in it coming down the home stretch and take herself from fourth to winning the heat was exciting to watch. You wish you had more people who would go to the wall and give it everything they had to win their heat. That was one of the more special things I’ve seen this year.”
Qualifying for the NCAA Championships is a special accomplishment for Balkwill, who has overcome injury and returned to peak form in 2015.
“Getting to go to the NCAA Championships means a tremendous amount to me because it has been a tough couple of years battling with injuries,” Balkwill said. “I have worked very hard to be in the position I am in and today it unfolded perfectly. I am very excited to be heading to Oregon for NCAAs. It proved to me that my hard work has paid off. The whole team, especially Coach Deem, has never given up on me and I am very grateful for that. Being able to contribute to our team and represent the University of Miami is an honor.”
Two Hurricanes are headed to Saturday’s quarterfinals in the men’s 110m hurdles. Artie Burns won Heat 1 of the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.70, tying his personal-best that ranks third in UM history. Christian Cook placed second with a personal-best time of 13.80 seconds, giving Miami two automatic qualifiers in the quarterfinals.
“Artie and Christian did what they needed to do to advance,” Deem said. “It was nice to see Christian get back to form and get under 14 seconds for the first time this year. Artie just needed races so for him to continue to go out and win his heat was good. If they both do what they did today they should punch their ticket to Oregon.”
Taneisha Cordell did not advance to Eugene, running a 2:09.08 in the women’s 800m quarterfinal. The senior will still have a chance to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships as part of Miami’s 4x400m relay that will compete tomorrow at 9:25 p.m. ET.
Jamika Glades did not advance to the NCAA Championships, placing 13th in the women’s 400m hurdles with a time of 57.97 seconds.
Gian Piero Ragonesi posted a mark of 54.36m in the men’s discus and Precious Ogunleye posted a mark of 48.47m in the women’s discus, but neither advanced to the NCAA Championships. Ragonesi will compete on Saturday in the men’s shot put, while Ogunleye will look to qualify for nationals tomorrow in the women’s hammer.
“We wanted to do a little bit better in the throws today, but I am looking forward to a big day in the men’s shot and the women’s hammer tomorrow,” Deem said. “That event has been really good to us all year and I know the girls are really motivated for tomorrow.”
Miami has three competitors scheduled to open Saturday’s action in the women’s hammer at 1:30 p.m., as Ogunleye, Okieme and Lea Johnson will look to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships in Oregon. Ragonesi and Daniel Polinski will compete in the men’s shot put at 5 p.m., while Dakota Dailey-Harris will look to earn her second straight trip to Oregon when they women’s high jump begins at 6 p.m. Friday is scheduled to be Miami’s final competitor in the field events, competing in the men’s triple jump at 7 p.m.
In addition to all the action in the field events Saturday, Miami will look to have competitors advance to Oregon in the women’s 100m hurdles, men’s 110m hurdles and women’s 200m. The Hurricane women’s 4x400m relay relay pool of Wimbley, Cordell, Balkwill, Glades, Anthonia Moore and Amy Taintor will be the final Canes on the track, competing at 9:25 p.m.
Eight men and 11 women make up the group of 19 Hurricanes scheduled to compete in 18 events at the NCAA East Preliminary from May 28-30 in Jacksonville. A year ago, Miami had 20 student-athletes qualify for regionals, competing in 15 different events.
The Preliminary championships competitions will be held May 28-30. The East region will be held at North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, and the West region at the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas. 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 10-13 in Eugene, Oregon.
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.
