Shakima Wimbley Wins 400m National Title
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Shakima Wimbley ran the best race of her life on the biggest stage and emerged as the national champion.
All eyes were on Miami’s senior superstar when she stepped on the track to run the second heat of the women’s 400m finals on Saturday at the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships and she did not disappoint.
Wimbley won the 2017 women’s indoor 400m crown with a world-leading time of 51.07 seconds, edging out USC’s Kendall Ellis at the finish line to claim the championship she has always coveted.
“I feel amazing,” Wimbley said. “Today in the hotel I didn’t know how today was going to end, but I knew I was going to give it my all. It’s my senior year and I really wanted to win. I feel like I owe to the school just as much as I owed it to myself and I just feel great.”
The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native has battled Ellis many times before, as the two hail from Broward County and have been competing head-to-head since their youth track and field meets. Wimbley beat Ellis in a thrilling 400m race at the Rod McCravy Memorial Invitational in January and the two topped that performance on Saturday with a race that was decided by seven-thousandths of a seconds.
“I know when Kendall steps on the line that I can’t slack,” Wimbley said. “She’s always been a great runner. She was actually faster than me in high school, but I got a race on her at the county and I beat her. I know that every time I race her that I have to go.”
Wimbley entered the meet as the NCAA leader in the women’s 400m with a time of 51.20 seconds, but she knew the national title would not just be handed to her. The senior won Heat 2 of the women’s 400m preliminaries with a time of 51.78 seconds to advance to her first NCAA indoor final, but Ellis entered the final with the top preliminary time of 51.59 seconds.
“It was even more special because I’ve come here every single year since I started college and never made a final,” Wimbley said. “Just making a final was something special for me, because I been through so much whether it was a confidence issue or an injury issue. I thought ‘I’m here for a reason and this just might be my time,’ and it was.”
The two lined up next to each other in Heat 2 of the women’s 400m final, Wimbley in Lane 6 and Ellis in Lane 5, and the two dueled from the moment the starter’s pistol fired. Fellow Hurricane Brittany Ellis and Texas’ Chrisann Gordon joined Wimbley and Ellis in the final heat, but were quickly left behind as the two were nearly even at the break.
“Before the race I kept telling myself, ‘This is it. This is what you’ve been training all year for. You have the number one time. Trust yourself. Trust your training and just get the job done,’” Wimbley said. “It really taught me to believe in myself. When I say something in my mind, I can actually achieve it. That’s what I learned from today. If I want something, I can go get it.”
Wimbley was in the lead through 200 meters, but Ellis continued to fight on the final lap and made a late charge that had everyone at Gilliam Indoor Stadium on the edge of their seat. Wimbley and Ellis crossed the finish line seemingly simultaneously, but the official times did not lie.
Wimbley: 51.061
Ellis: 51.068
Wimbley won her first NCAA championship and the Miami Hurricanes won their first indoor 400m title since Krista Simkins in 2008. She becomes the 10th different Hurricane to win a national title and is the ninth woman to do so. Her title is Miami’s first since Ti’erra Brown won the women’s 400m hurdles crown at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
“I am so proud of Shakima,” Deem said. “It’s been a long time coming. She’s worked so hard. She’s known and we’ve known the talent is there, but just to execute her race in this type of competition is great and I think her future is so bright. I am so happy she got it and she fought for it. Her confidence level is just going to continue to rise.”
In addition to Wimbley’s unforgettable performance, Ellis had a strong showing in her first NCAA indoor final. The sophomore, who was a silver medalist in the event at the 2017 ACC Indoor Championships, placed eighth with a time of 53.13 seconds.
“Brittny came here for the first time and is a first team All-American and made the final and scored a point for our team,” Deem said.
Miami capped the meet with a season-best showing in the women’s 4x400m relay. The Hurricanes’ quartet of Aiyanna Stiverne, Ellis, Michelle Atherley and Wimbley combined to win Heat 2 of the women’s 4x400m relay final with a time of 3:31.85 that ranks second all-time in UM history.
The Hurricane women finished with a team score of 18 points, tied for eighth place with Missouri. Miami finished in the top 10 for the first time since tying for fifth with 27 points in 2006. Seven student-athletes from the back-to-back ACC champion Hurricanes were at the two-day meet, held on March 10-11 at Gilliam Indoor Track in College Station, Texas.
“The young ladies really stepped up this weekend,” Deem said. “To be a top eight team in the country, I’m very proud of them and really proud of our whole indoor season. Our whole team stepped up at ACCs and then the group that came here stepped up again. I am just really excited for them and very proud of everything they did this indoor season.”
On Day 1 of the NCAA Indoor Championships, Miami picked up a big spark from Atherley. The combined events standout opened up competition at the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Indoor Championships with a record-setting performance, finishing fourth in the women’s pentathlon with a school record and personal best score of 4,319 points.
Atherley opened the competition with a time of 8.21 seconds in the 60m hurdles, tying her personal best from the ACC Indoor Championships 60m hurdles final. The sophomore followed with a mark of 1.75m in the high jump and posted a personal-best 12.69m in the shot put. Atherley had a long jump of 5.67m and closed out the pentathlon with a time of 2:17.05 in the 800m to score five points for Miami’s women’s team.
Ebony Morrison also competed on Friday, finishing 15th overall in the women’s 60m hurdles with a time of 8.47 seconds. The senior, who won the women’s 60m hurdles title at the 2017 ACC Indoor Championships, did not advance to the finals at the NCAA meet.
Following the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Hurricanes will open their outdoor season with the first of three home meets scheduled for 2017, the Hurricane Invitational on March 17-18. Miami will also host the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational on March 25 and the Hurricane Alumni Invitational on April 7-8. To view the complete Miami track and field schedule for the 2017 season, click here.
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.
