@CanesTrack Opens Day One at NCAA Preliminary
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of Miami opened competition on Thursday at the 2016 NCAA Division I East Regional Outdoor Track and Field Championships on the University of North Florida campus.
Precious Ogunleye highlighted the day for the Hurricanes as her fifth-place performance in the hammer throw punched her ticket to Eugene, Ore., where she will compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The senior’s final attempt yielded her top throw of the day, as Ogunleye posted a mark of 60.02m (196-11) to secure her spot at national meet.
“I was very happy for Precious,” said director of track and field Amy Deem. “It’s always exciting to see someone post that performance on their last attempt.”
On the track, juniors Shakima Wimbley and Aiyanna Stiverne each posted qualifying times in the 400-meter dash, advancing to the quarterfinals after they clocked times of 52.11 and 52.84, respectively, in the first round of the women’s 400-meters. Wimbley’s time was good enough to win Heat 2 and place second overall, while Stiverne finished 14th.
“The first round of regionals is always the hardest to manage,” Deem said. “It was great to see both Shakima and Aiyanna get through to the next round. I look for both of them to have big days tomorrow night.”
Both Wimbley and Stiverne will return to the track tomorrow for the quarterfinals of the women’s 400-meters, beginning at 6 p.m.
On the men’s side, junior Carlos Mangum just missed qualifying for the national meet, as he placed 15th in the hammer throw following his school record-breaking performance of 65.08m (213-6).
“Carlos had a great performance today and I can’t wait to see what he will be able to do in this event as a senior,” Deem said.
In the men’s 400-meter run, sophomore Henri Delauze clocked a time of 46.93 seconds, but did not qualify for quarterfinal action.
“This is such a great environment with great competition all around,” Deem said. “Tomorrow is a big day for us and we hope to get as many athletes qualified for as we can.”
The Hurricanes return to the track Friday night at 5 p.m. in the women’s 100m hurdles. Live stats can found on NCAA.com.
