Seven Canes Qualify for NCAA Championships
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Miami track and field program will have seven student-athletes represent the Hurricanes at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Dakota Dailey-Harris, Carlos Mangum, Ebony Morrison, Alysha Newman, Precious Ogunleye, Tiffany Okieme and Shakima Wimbley will compete against the NCAA’s best in their respective events on March 11-12 at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.
Mangum will open the meet for the Hurricanes, competing in the men’s weight throw at 6 p.m. ET on Friday. The ACC silver medalist in the weight throw in 2016, Mangum set a new school record at the ACC Championships with a throw of 21.32m that earned the junior the 16th and final qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships.
Morrison is the next Hurricane in action, competing in the preliminaries of the women’s 60m hurdles at 7:20 p.m. ET. Also an ACC silver medalist, Morrison is one of four competitors to enter the NCAA meet with a qualifying time of 8.18 seconds. The junior, who ranks fifth on UM’s all-time 60m hurdles list, is the 16th seed heading into Birmingham this weekend.
Two Hurricanes will compete in the women’s weight throw as Ogunleye and Okieme will look to shine against the nation’s best throwers beginning at 8:20 p.m. ET. Okieme’s mark of 21.42m ranks ninth in the country, earned the senior a silver medal in the weight throw at the ACC Indoor Championships and moved her into third place in UM history, while Ogunleye ranks 10th in the country with a throw of 21.27m.
Wimbley will be the final Cane in action Friday night, competing in the 200m preliminaries at 8:55 p.m. ET. Named the 2016 ACC Women’s Indoor Track Most Outstanding Performer, the junior won gold medals in the 200m, 400m and 4x400m at the 2016 ACC Indoor Championships. Wimbley is currently ranked 13th nationally with a time of 23.20 seconds.
ACC gold medalist Dakota Dailey-Harris kicks off the action Saturday in the women’s high jump at 3 p.m. ET. The senior’s mark of 1.83m set a school record in the women’s high jump and clinched her spot in the NCAA indoor Championships, ranking 16th nationally.
Alysha Newman, who earned a silver medal in the women’s pole vault at the ACC Indoor Championships, enters the NCAA meet with the fourth-best mark in the country: a school-record 4.50m. Her quest for a national championship begins at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Should Morrison and Wimbley advances to the finals in the 60m hurdles and 200m, respectively, they will race for a chance at a national championship on Saturday. The 60m hurdles final is set for 5:35 p.m. ET and the 200m final is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET.
ESPN3 will stream the meet live on March 11 starting at 6:25 p.m. ET and March 12 starting at 4:55 p.m. ET. A re-air of the championship will take place Sunday, March 13 starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and also Wednesday, March 23 starting at 10 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
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.
