T&T quartermiler Ato Modibo ran a personal time at Saturday’s Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, as he placed second in the men’s 400 metres dash.
In winning the silver medal, Modibo, who has been in fine form this year, bettered the 45.55 seconds “A” standard required for qualification for the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, in August with a 45.02 secs performance.
The winner was Florida State University’s Ricardo Chambers in 44.87 secs, with Miles Smith of South-East Missouri State University bagging the bronze medal in 45.45.
Also featuring at the meet was national women’s 800m champion and record holder Melissa De Leon. Running unattached, De Leon won the two-lap final in two minutes, 2.27 secs, breaking the national record she set last year in Venezuela (2:03.06).
FCB “Sportswoman” of 2004 Candice Scott tossed the hammer 69.54m to win the silver medal. Erin Gilreath’s 71.14m was good enough for victory.
Former national sprint double champion Jacey Harper sped to men’s 200m gold. He crossed the line in 20.70 secs, achieving the World Championships “B” standard for the half-lap (20.75 secs). He also ran the 100m, finishing ninth overall (10.33).
US-born T&T athlete Le Juan Simon took home men’s triple jump bronze with a 15.82m leap. Unattached jumper Lester Smith topped the field with his 15.89m attempt.
In the women’s 400m, local girl Natalie Dixon (South Carolina State University) was seventh in the final (54.25), while Dana Massiah (Florida State University) was 12th overall (55.01).
Massiah’s schoolmate Kimberly Walker, a reserve in T&T’s women’s 4x100m relay team at the Olympics last year, placed fifth in the 100m final (11.76). Wanda Hutson, another member of T&T’s sprint relay team, was sixth in her qualifying heat in 11.59 secs, and national men’s 400m hurdles champion and record holder Sanchaze Ross clocked 14.57 secs in the 110m hurdles heats to finish 15th overall.
At the Grand Prix Cristobal de Leon in the Dominican Republic on Saturday, former national 100m champion Marc Burns clinched the straight sprint crown ahead of a star-studded field, which included world 100m champion Kim Collins.
With a 0.2 wind at his back, Burns got to the tape in 10.10 secs — a personal record. Like Modibo, Burns bettered the “A” standard (10.21) for the World Championships with his clocking.
Dwight Neptune was the men’s 100m bronze medallist at the Mountain West Conference Championships on Saturday. The T&T/University of Wyoming speedster was timed at 10.63 secs. Travis Picou (10.53) and Nate Soelburg (10.56) were first and second, respectively.
