UM Track Qualifies for NCAA East Preliminary
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – ACC champions Shakima Wimbley and Alysha Newman are among the members of the University of Miami track and field program accepted to compete at the 2016 East Preliminary, the NCAA announced Thursday.
Wimbley and Newman lead a talented group of women headed to the NCAA East Preliminary from May 26-28 in Jacksonville, while senior John-Patrick Friday qualified for her fourth straight NCAA regional to lead the Hurricane men.
The Preliminary championships competitions will be held May 26-28. The East region will be held at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, and the West region at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. 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.
The 2016 ACC Women’s Track MVP, Wimbley qualified for her third consecutive year. The junior will compete in the 400m, as well as on Miami’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays. Last weekend at the ACC Outdoor Championships, Wimbley earned gold medals in the 200m, 400m, 4x100m and 4x400m.
Aiyanna Stiverne joins Wimbley in the 400m field, as well as on both of the Miami relays. Stiverne earned bronze medals in both the 200m and 400m at the ACC Championships and was on both of Miami’s ACC champion relays, helping the 4x100m set a school record and the 4x400m set an ACC Championship meet record. Destiny Washington will also compete in the women’s 400m, as well as the 4x400m relay, giving the Canes a trio of qualifiers in the event.
Ebony Morrison is one of three Hurricanes in the women’s 100m hurdles field, joined by three-time qualifier Jamika Glades and Stefani Kerrison. Morrison, a junior who is also on Miami’s 4x100m relay, won a bronze medal in the 100m hurdles at the ACC Championships, while Glades will also compete in the 400m hurdles in addition to the 100m hurdles in Jacksonville. Kerrison earned her spot in the regional with a personal-best 100m hurdles time of 13.52 seconds at the ACC Championships.
Freshman Carolyn Brown rounds out the individual qualifiers on the track for Miami’s women, scheduled to compete in the 200m and the 4x100m relay.
Miami’s 4x100m relay team of Wimbley, Brown, Stiverne and Morrison set a school record while winning gold at the ACC Championships with a time of 43.63 seconds. The Hurricanes’ 4x400m relay team of Washington, Stiverne, Brittny Ellis and Wimbley set the ACC Championship meet record with their gold medal-winning time of 3:30.61 last weekend in Tallahassee, Fla. Miami will also add freshmen Erin Ford and Anna Runia to both relay pools, giving Miami director of track and field/cross country Amy Deem a talented and deep group to choose from.
Newman is one of the Hurricanes’ leaders in the field events, qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary for the fourth straight year. The ACC women’s pole vault champion, she enters the NCAA East Preliminary as the second seed behind ACC silver medalist Megan Clark of Duke.
Senior Dakota Dailey-Harris will be a competitor to watch in the women’s high jump after being a First Team All-American indoors this year. Throwers Tiffany Okieme (shot put) and Precious Ogunleye (hammer) round out the 14 women headed to Jacksonville for the NCAA East Preliminary. Dailey-Harris is back at regionals for the third straight year, while Ogunleye and Okieme return after a 2015 appearance.
One the men’s side, Friday is a four-year NCAA East Preliminary qualifier and the senior is slated to compete in both the high jump and triple jump. Friday scored in both events, as well as the long jump, at the ACC Outdoor Championships.
Miami also features a talented trio of experienced throwers headed to Jacksonville. School record holder Isaiah Simmons will compete in the shot put, while Gian Ragonesi will join him in the shot put and also compete in the discus. School record holder Carlos Mangum wraps up the trio, earning a spot in the men’s hammer throw field. All three throwers are three-time NCAA East Preliminary qualifiers.
In addition to the four veterans qualifying in the field events, Miami has two talented sophomore sprinters looking to continue their success on the track. Jaalen Jones ran a personal-best time of 21.02 seconds to earn a spot in the ACC 200m final, as well as the NCAA East Preliminary, while Henri Delauze scored for the Canes at the ACC Outdoor Championships with a personal-best 400m time of 46.43 seconds that qualified him for the NCAA East Preliminary for the second straight year.
The qualifying Hurricanes will compete at the NCAA East Preliminary in Jacksonville, Fla., on May 26-28 for the right to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., from June 8-11.
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