No. 17 @CanesTrack Shines at Penn State
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – The No. 17 Miami Hurricanes track and field team opened the 2016 indoor season with a strong showing at the Nittany Lion Challenge.
The Canes had several student-athletes earn victories and post strong times and marks in their respective events in what was a good start to the 2016 indoor season.
“This was a great opportunity to see where our athletes are in the early part of the season,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “There were a lot of positives and performances that we can build on. As a coaching staff, we must continue to coach them and help them understand the importance of confidence in their abilities.”
Shakima Wimbley won the women’s 200m dash with a time of 23.33 seconds, just one-hundredth of a second behind the meet record. The junior, who is the two-time defending ACC indoor 200m champion, led an impressive group of Hurricanes in the 200m.
Fellow junior Aiyanna Stiverne made her Hurricane debut and it was impressive, placing second in the 200m with a time of 24.42 seconds. Freshmen Brittny Ellis and Anna Runia placed sixth and seventh, respectively. Ellis posted a time of 24.75 seconds, while Runia crossed the finish line in 24.76 seconds. In the men’s 200m, Henri Delauze placed seventh with a time of 21.97 seconds.
Miami had three hurdlers finish back-to-back-to-back in the women’s 60m hurdles final. Ebony Morrison placed third with a time of 8.33 seconds, Stefani Kerrison finished fourth with a time of 8.59 seconds and Jamika Glades was fifth with a time of 8.60 seconds.Freshman Samantha Gonzalez just missed qualifying for the 60m hurdles final, posting a preliminary time of 8.95 that ranked ninth.
TeQuille Jackson placed eighth in the men’s 60m hurdles with a time of 8.43 seconds. Jackson earned a spot in the 60m hurdles final when he posted a time of 8.61 seconds in the preliminary round.
Freshman Isaiah Taylor placed fifth in the men’s 60m dash with a time of 6.88 seconds. Taylor, who ran a 6.89 in the preliminaries, was not the only Hurricane freshman to succeed in the 60m. On the women’s side, Carolyn Brown just missed the final, posting a preliminary time of 7.74 that ranked ninth. Anna Runia had the 12th-best preliminary time, running a 7.80.
Miami also made some noise in the distance events as freshman Anne Den Otter won Heat 3 of the women’s mile run with a time of 5:00.95. Den Otter, who placed 17th overall, moves into third place on Miami’s all-time Top 5.
On the men’s side, sophomore Zack Garland improved his third-best 600m time in school history when he placed 11th with a personal-best time of 1:21.96, while freshman Thomas Gassner moved into fourth place in school history with a 600m time of 1:22.48.
The Canes closed out the day with strong showings in the 4x400m relay. Miami’s women won the 4x400m relay as Brittny Ellis, Samantha Gonzalez, Shakima Wimbley and Anthonia Moore, combined to post a time of 3:42.11. A second Hurricane relay team of Jamika Glades, Aiyanna Stiverne, Carolyn Brown and Erin Ford combined to finish second with a time of 3:45.51, while the men’s relay of Anthony Wolliston, Henri Delauze, Joseph Ryan and Zack Garland combined to place fourth with a time of 3:18.26.
Miami’s success on the track was equaled in the field events, where multiple Hurricanes came away victorious.
Alysha Newman opened the 2016 indoor season with victory, setting a meet record with a mark of 4.30m. Nick Catchur placed fourth in the men’s pole vault with a mark of 4.66m.
Senior Tiffany Okieme and freshman Zakiya Rashid started their indoor season strong, reaching the finals of the women’s weight throw. Okieme won the weight throw with a mark of 19.87m, while Rashid placed ninth with a mark of 15.33m.
On the men’s side, Carlos Mangum was the runner-up in the men’s weight throw with a mark of 19.28m. Fellow Cane Gian Piero Ragonesi placed sixth with a mark of 17.50m.
Ragonesi was the top thrower in the men’s shot put, placing first with a personal-best mark of 18.18m that ranks second in UM history. Fellow Cane Daniel Polinski placed fourth with a mark of 16.17m.
Okieme also exceled in the women’s shot put, placing second with a mark of 16.02m that ranks third on UM’s all-time Top 5. Senior Taylor Gunn placed eighth with a throw of 13.37m, while Rashid placed 12th (12.76m).
Sophomore David Njoku placed third in the men’s high jump, clearing a personal-best 2.07m to tie for fourth on UM’s all-time Top 5. Senior Dakota Dailey-Harris was also strong in the event, placing second in the women’s high jump with a mark of 1.75m. Freshman Kyra Maryland placed ninth with a mark of 1.65m.
Senior Alexis Wright placed fifth in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 11.69m, while sophomore Niara Hill finished seventh with a mark of 11.36m. Sophomore Amy Taintor placed eighth in the women’s long jump with a mark of 5.58m
Following this weekend’s action in Pennsylvania, the Hurricanes will travel to Lexington, Ky., for the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet on January 22-23.
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 @CanesTrack on Twitter for specific news on UM track and field and cross country. The program is also on Instagram.
