Morrison Lead No. 15 @CanesTrack at Tyson
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program opened up its stay at the Tyson Invitational Friday.
The No. 15 Hurricanes got off to a solid start in Fayetteville, Ark., as one Cane earned a top three finish and several others posted strong times and marks at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the University of Arkansas campus.
Ebony Morrison was outstanding once again in the women’s 60m hurdles, placing third with a personal-best time of 8.18 seconds that ranks fifth in UM history. The junior’s path to the finals was an exciting one as she ran a time of 8.26 seconds to head into the semifinals as the third seed. Morrison then ran the fastest semifinal time among the 16 competitors, posting a personal-best time of 8.21 seconds to earn the top seed heading into the final where she would shave three-hundredths of a second off her career-best.
Gabrielle Hesslau ran a personal-best time of 5:03.72 that placed her fourth in Heat 1 and sixth overall in the women’s mile run.
A trio of Canes competed in the women’s 400m with Destiny Washington leading the way with a time of 55.74 seconds. Anthonia Moore and Samantha Gonzalez each ran season-bests, crossing the finish line in 56.16 and 57.82 seconds, respectively.
A pair of Hurricane jumpers finished in the top 15 in the men’s long jump. Senior Innocent Jacob finished 10th with a mark of 7.13m, while fellow senior John-Patrick Friday was 13th with a mark of 7.05m.
In addition to the action at the Tyson Invitational, several talented Hurricanes are set to compete Saturday at LSU.
Throwers Precious Ogunleye and Tiffany Okieme lead the way on the women’s side. Ogunleye won the women’s weight throw at The Armory with a personal-best mark of 21.27m that ranks fifth in the NCAA this year. Okieme currently is in the Top 50 in the country in both the shot put and weight throw, ranking 32nd in the shot put at 16.02m and 12th in the weight throw at 20.60m.
On the men’s side, Armory Track Invitational weight throw champion Carlos Mangum will look to continue his success, while senior Isaiah Simmons is set to compete for the first time in 2016. Mangum ranks 46th in the NCAA in the weight throw, while Simmons is a two-time Field MVP at the ACC Outdoor Championships, winning four ACC titles.
Following this weekend’s action, the Hurricanes will spend a week training for the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 25-27 in Boston.
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.
