Cheree Hicks

	Position: Assistant Coach
	Experience: Seventh Year

Now in her seventh season as the Hurricanes' throws coach, Chereé Hicks continues to build the UM throws program into one of the nation's elite. Hicks has coached an athlete to the NCAA National Championships in four of her previous six years at Miami as her athletes have set multiple school records while earning countless all-conference awards during her tenure.

Hicks' expertise helped guide Miranda Wilson (weight throw) and Kyla Buckley (shot put) to All-ACC honors during the 2011 Indoor season. Buckley went on to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and earned All-ACC accolades in the shot put.

The 2010 season saw the continued improvement of junior Wilson. During the indoor season, Wilson moved into fourth-place in the school record books with a throw of 17.60m in the weight throw. The Vallejo, Calif. native also moved up to fourth place in the hammer throw during the outdoor season with a toss of 52.40m.

Coming off of a standout 2008 season, the Miami throws program, led by senior All-American Khadija Talley, took a giant step in that direction. Under Hicks' tutelage, Talley's senior campaign would bring many accolades, including the first discus All-American honor in UM's storied history, a second-place finish in the shot put at the NCAA East Regional championships as well as an ACC record and championship title in the discus.

Talley would cap off the season by earning the Southeast Regional Field Event Athlete of Year Award as voted on by the coaches before finishing her Miami career at the Olympic Trials, competing in both the shot and discus.

Hicks would have three athletes qualify for NCAA Regionals across four disciplines in 2008, including Talley (shot put, discus, hammer), freshman Miranda Wilson (discus), Misti Barber (shot put) and Kaitlin Nazario (javelin).

In 2007, Hicks saw continued improvement in Talley as the junior cracked Miami's top five list in four events, two indoor (shot put, weight throw) and two outdoor (shot put, hammer throw). En route to winning ACC titles in the indoor weight throw as well as outdoor discus, Talley went on to qualify for both the Indoor and Outdoor NCAA Championships in the weight throw and discus, respectively.

In her debut season as a Hurricane, Misti Barber qualified for the NCAA regionals in the shot put under Hicks' direction after she transferred to UM in the fall semester.

In her first season, Hicks guided Miami throwers and multi-event athletes to six All-ACC honors, including Talley who earned indoor all-conference honors in the shot put and outdoor recognition in the discus. She also mentored Amy Seward to All-ACC honors in the pentathlon and heptathlon, and guided two athletes--Talley (discus) and Nazario (javelin)--to school record-breaking performances.

In addition to their success at the conference level, three of Hicks' throwers qualified for the NCAA East Regional Championships including Talley (discus), Akera Lathan (shot put) and Nazario (javelin), with Lathan advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in her respective event.

Hicks joined the Hurricanes in 2005 after spending three seasons at Syracuse University, where she coached her student-athletes to eight individual Big East Championships, 17 Big East All-Conference honors and five school-records.

Hicks was instrumental in the development of Johvonne Hernandez, who in 2004 set a Big East record and earned All-America honors in the hammer throw, and captured the NCAA East Regional title in the discus.

Prior to her stint at Syracuse, Hicks was an assistant coach at Portland State University during the 2002 season.
Hicks, who holds a USATF Level II certification in throws and jumps, earned All-American honors in the discus, as well as the indoor and outdoor shot put while competing for Syracuse in 1999 and 2000.

During the 2000 season, she finished second in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, and was runner-up in both the shot put and discus at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. That season, she set a Big East Indoor Championship record in the shot put and Big East Outdoor Championship records in both the shot put and discus. In addition, she placed fifth in the shot put at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Hicks earned her Bachelor of Science degree in public relations from Syracuse in 2000 and ended her Syracuse career as the school-record holder in both the indoor and outdoor shot put and in the discus. Hicks, a member of the 1997 USA Junior National team, competed her freshman season at California State Northridge where she garnered Academic All-American recognition as well as earned All-American honors in the discus.