No. 17 @CanesTrack Ready for Rod McCravy Meet
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Miami track and field program will be part of a talented field at the 2016 Rod McCravy Memorial Meet at the University of Kentucky this weekend.
The No. 17 Hurricanes are one of 10 ranked teams (four men, six women) scheduled to compete at Nutter Field House on Friday and Saturday. Baylor, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Houston, Kentucky and Virginia join Miami as ranked team in a field that also includes Harvard, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and WKU.
Reigning ACC Women’s Indoor Track Performer of the Week Shakima Wimbley will head to Kentucky as one of the top athletes to watch in the entire meet. The junior opened her 2016 indoor season with a stellar showing at the Nittany Lion Challenge a week ago. Wimbley won the women’s 200m with a time of 23.33 seconds, just one-hundredth of a second behind the meet record. Wimbley’s time is the fastest among ACC sprinters and ranks second nationally. She also helped the Canes win the 4x400m with a time of 3:42.11 that ranks 12th nationally this season.
Pole vaulter Alysha Newman and thrower Tiffany Okieme are two other Canes looking to continue their success from a week ago at Penn State. Newman won the women’s pole vault at the NIttany Lion Challenge with a mark of 4.30m and Okieme won the weight throw with a mark of 19.87m and placed second in the shot put with a mark of 16.02m that ranks third on UM’s all-time Top 5.
Other Canes to watch on the women’s side include sprinters Carolyn Brown, Brittny Ellis, Anna Runia, Aiyanna Stiverne and Destiny Washington, hurdlers Jamika Glades, Samantha Gonzalez, Stefani Kerrison and Ebony Morrison, jumper Dakota Dailey-Harris, throwers Precious Ogunleye, Taylor Gunn and Zakiya Rashid and pentathlete Amy Taintor.
On the men’s side, Miami will look for another big weekend from thrower Gian Piero Ragonesi. The junior was the top thrower in the men’s shot put at the Nittany Lion Challenge, placing first with a personal-best mark of 18.18m that ranks second in UM history. He also placed sixth in the men’s weight throw with a mark of 17.50m.
Sprinters Henri Delauze and Isaiah Taylor will look to build off Top 10 finishes at the Nittany Lion Challenge. The freshman Taylor made his collegiate debut running a 6.88 to finish fifth in the 60m, while the sophomore Delauze placed seventh in the men’s 200m with a time of 21.97 seconds.
Thrower Carlos Mangum and jumper David Njoku will also try to continue their success in the second meet of the season. Mangum placed second in the weight throw at Penn State with a mark of 19.28m, while Njoku finished third in the men’s high jump with a mark of 2.07m to tie for fourth on UM’s all-time Top 5. Other Hurricane men to watch include sprinters Myles Valentine and Jaalen Jones, hurdler TeQuille Jackson and thrower Daniel Polinski.
Action is set to begin on Friday at 10 a.m. ET with the men’s heptathlon, while the men’s weight throw opens the field events at 3 p.m. ET and the women’s 200m kicks off the running events at 6:10 p.m. ET. Saturday’s competition is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET with the men’s heptathlon, while the women’s shot put open field events at 11 a.m. and the women’s 60m hurdles will start off the running events at noon. The meet will be broadcast on SEC Network+ on WatchESPN on Saturday from noon until the conclusion.
Following this weekend’s action in Kentucky, the Hurricanes will return to Coral Gables to prepare for the Armory Track Invitational on Feb. 5-6 in New York.
Miami Entries
Men
60m: Isaiah Taylor, Myles Valentine
200m: Henri Delauze, Anthony Wolliston, Jaalen Jones, Breon Mullings
400m: Henri Delauze, Anthony Wolliston, Joseph Ryan
600-yard: Zack Garland, Tom Gassner
800m: Zack Garland, Tom Gassner
60m HH: TeQuille Jackson
4x400m: TeQuille Jackson, Anthony Wolliston, Joseph Ryan, Zack Garland, Thomas Gassner
High Jump: David Njoku
Pole Vault: Nick Catchur
Shot Put: Gian Piero Ragonesi, Daniel Polinski
Weight Throw: Carlos Mangum, Gian Piero Ragonesi
Women
60m: Carolyn Brown, Trishelle Leacock
200m: Carolyn Brown, Brittny Ellis, Jamika Glades, Anthonia Moore, Anna Runia, Destiny Washington
400m: Shakima Wimbley, Aiyanna Stiverne, Brittny Ellis, Erin Ford
1 Mile: Anne Den Otter, Gabrielle Hesslau
3000m: Anne Den Otter, Gabrielle Hesslau
5000m: Gabrielle Hesslau
60m HH: Ebony Morrison, Stefani Kerrison, Jamika Glades, Samantha Gonzalez, Anna Runia, Lateisha Philson
4x400m: Shakima Wimbley, Samantha Gonzalez, Anthonia Moore, Anna Runia, Aiyanna Stiverne, Brittny Ellis, Jamika Glades, Carolyn Brown, Erin Ford
High Jump: Dakota Dailey-Harris, Kyra Maryland
Triple Jump: Alexis Wright, Niara Hill
Pole Vault: Alysha Newman
Shot Put: Zakiya Rashid, Tiffany Okieme, Taylor Gunn, Precious Ogunleye
Weight Throw: Tiffany Okieme, Taylor Gunn, Zakiya Rashid, Precious Ogunleye
Pentathlon: Amy Taintor
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.
