No. 15 @CanesTrack Shines at Tyson and LSU
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami track and field program closed the weekend with strong performances at the Tyson Invitational and LSU High Performance Meet.
The No. 15 Hurricanes competed at two separate meets on Saturday and had great results at both sites, posting times and marks that rank among the best in school history.
“I thought we did some things to improve ourselves nationally,” Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem said. “Ebony [Morrison] and Alysha [Newman] are competing at a very high level. Both are consistently improving as the season progresses.”
Shakima Wimbley finished sixth in the women’s 200m invitational with a season-best time of 23.20 seconds. Aiyanna Stiverne ran a personal-best time of 24.17 seconds to place 25th in the women’s open 200m. Erin Ford and Brittny Ellis also ran personal-bests, finishing in 24.47 and 24.56 seconds, respectively.
The quartet of Stiverne, Ellis, WImbley and Anthonia Moore won Heat 1 and placed fifth overall in the women’s 4x400m invitational relay with a season-best time of 3:34.04 that ranks fifth in UM history. They move past the 2004 team of Ginou Etienne, Charlette Greggs, Dominique Darden and Kitoya Carter, whom has a time of 3:34.45.
“The 4×4 ran well today,” Deem said. “As we continue to mature, this will be one of our better events.”
A second 4x400m relay team of Destiny Washington, Ford, Anna Runia and Samantha Gonzalez placed second in their heat and sixth overall in the non-invitational section with a time of 3:41.37. The Hurricane men placed seventh in the 4x400m relay as Henri Delauze, Breon Mullings, Joseph Ryan and Anthony Wolliston combined for a season-best time of 3:15.16.
Freshman Anne Den Otter continued to shine in the distance events, placing second in the women’s 3000m run with a personal-best time of 10:10.25 that ranks fourth in UM history.
Miami also had success in the field events at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the University of Arkansas campus.
Alysha Newman tied her school record mark of 4.50m to place third in the women’s invitational pole vault. John-Patrick Friday placed second in the men’s triple jump with a mark of 15.49m, while Dakota Dailey-Harris finished fifth in the women’s high jump with a mark of 1.76m.
In addition to the action at the Tyson Invitational, several talented Hurricanes excelled at the LSU High Performance Meet in Baton Rouge, La.
Precious Ogunleye won the women’s weight throw for the second straight week, placing first with a mark of 20.73m, while Tiffany Okieme was second with a throw of 19.55m. Zakiya Rashid finished sixth with a personal-best throw of 16.59m and Taylor Gunn was ninth with a mark of 15.72m.
Okieme led the quartet of throwers in the women’s shot put, placing third with a mark of 15.67m. Ogunleye was fourth with an indoor-best throw of 14.41m, while Gunn had a season-best mark of 14.41m to place fifth. Rashid placed sixth with a personal-best throw of 13.37m
The LSU High Performance Meet also served as the first competition of 2016 for thrower Isaiah Simmons. The senior placed second in the shot put with a mark of 18.54m and was seventh in the weight throw with a personal-best mark of 18.12m that ranks second in UM history. Junior Carlos Mangum placed sixth in the men’s weight throw with a mark of 18.58m.
Stefani Kerrison won the 60m hurdles with a season-best time of 8.46 seconds, while Lateisha Philson placed third with a season-best time of 8.73 seconds.
Kyra Maryland placed second in the women’s high jump with a personal-best mark of 1.69m that ranks fourth in UM history, while Andreas Christodoulou placed fifth in the men’s long jump with a mark of 6.64m.
Trishelle Leacock placed third in the 200m with a season-best time of 24.89 seconds and seventh in the 60m with a time of 7.69 seconds.
Following this weekend’s action, the Hurricanes will spend a week training for the ACC Indoor Championships on Feb. 25-27 in Boston.
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