@MiamiTrack Finishes Strong at East Prelims
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program had a strong final day to close out the 2015 NCAA East Preliminary.
The Hurricanes earned trips to Oregon in multiple events Saturday, joining pole vaulter Alysha Newman, 400m runner Shakima Wimbley and 400m hurdler Kelsey Balkwill who qualified over the first two days of competition.
“Overall, I thought we had a great meet,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “We got a lot of people through to nationals. The ladies missed on a couple of things that we hoped to get in, but Precious stepped up in the hammer and the 4x400m relay had a three-second personal-best. A lot of good things happened.”
Precious Ogunleye ensured that a Hurricane would compete in the women’s hammer at the NCAA Championships for the second straight year. The 2015 ACC champion in the hammer throw, Ogunleye finished fourth at the NCAA East Preliminary with a throw of 60.77m to earn one of the 12 spots advancing to Eugene, Oregon.
“I am happy to finally make it to nationals,” Ogunleye said. “I’m excited to represent Miami and compete against the best in the country.”
Miami had two men advance to the NCAA Championships in the 110m hurdles: Artie Burns and Christian Cook. Burns placed second in Heat 2 of the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 13.70 seconds to earn an automatic qualifying spot. It was the third time this season that Burns ran a time of 13.70 seconds, ranking third-fastest in UM history.
“It feels good to come out in my second track meet of the year and qualify to go to nationals. I always dreamed of competing in Oregon against the best in the country and now I will.”
Cook earned a wild card spot in the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 13.84 seconds to give Miami two of the 12 spots advancing to Oregon out of the NCAA East Preliminary.
“It feels good, especially knowing that people never gave up on you and the coaches always had faith in you,” Cook said. “People told me all year that I had what it takes to run a time that could make it to nationals and now that I put together that race, it just puts more confidence in me.”
John-Patrick Friday posted a mark of 15.65m, second-best is UM history, to earn one of the 12 spots advancing to the NCAA Championships in the men’s triple jump.
“It feels great,” Friday said. “Last year, I had a bad regional meet and this year I did what I was supposed to do feels great. I know I can do even better at nationals. I am going to compete and have fun.”
“Some kids really stepped up like JP, Christian and Artie,” Deem said. “For the three guys to qualify in the individual events is big. I am really proud of them and how they stayed focused and stepped up when it counted.”
Kelsey Balkwill, Taneisha Cordell, Anthonia Moore and Shakima Wimbley combined to place second in Heat 1 of the women’s 4x400m relay with a personal-best time of 3:30.22 and earned a trip to nationals. The quartet, along with alternates Jamika Glades and Amy Taintor, rounded out Miami’s qualifiers for the 2015 NCAA Championships.
“The biggest thing was they all ran well on the same day,” Deem said. “Not one person had to carry the load. The big thing was Anthonia having a huge PR on her leg and that helped a lot. Kelsey put them in a great spot and Taneisha kept them right there and they put Anthonia in a position where she was confident and she wasn’t going to let her teammate down. That’s what we have been looking for all year, for each person to put the next one in a place they can be successful in and that’s what we did today.”
Dakota Dailey-Harris cleared a season-best 1.79m in the women’s high jump, but the junior did not advance to the NCAA Championships.
Lea Johnson saw her Hurricane career come to a close as posted a mark of 54.19m in the women’s hammer and did not advance to nationals. The senior is one of the most decorated throwers in Miami history, winning two ACC weight throw titles and an ACC hammer throw championship and earning numerous All-America and All-ACC accolades.
“Lea had a great career for us and you always want to see her end on a high note,” Deem said. “She had a little bit of bad luck at the end of the season, but she had such a great career and we are really going to miss her.”
Tiffany Okieme also saw her 2015 season come to an end, posting a mark of 55.36m in the women’s hammer throw. Men’s throwers Gian Piero Ragonesi and Daniel Polinski also failed to advance in the shot put, posting marks of 17.06m and 16.07m, respectively.
“For the kids that are disappointed, I want them to be disappointed and frustrated but also motivated to get better so we can take even more to nationals next year,” Deem said.
Eight men and 11 women made up the group of 19 Hurricanes that competed 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 were 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.
