Team USA wins 20 medals on final day of 2007 Pan Am Junior Champs
By Vicky Oddi, USATF
Posted Monday, 9 July, 2007
INDIANAPOLIS - Team USA concluded competition Sunday winning a total of 48 medals over three days at the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The women's 4x400m relay of Brandi Cross (Missouri City, Texas), Latavia Thomas (Philadelphia, Pa.), Brehanna Jacobs (Uniontown, Pa.) and Jessica Beard (Euclid, Ohio) ran the fourth fastest time ever to claim the gold medal in 3 minutes 29.76 seconds. On the men's side, Robert Simmons (Houston, Texas), Christopher Ward (Kissimmee, Fla.), Johnny Dutch (Clayton, N.C.) and Bryshon Nellum (Los Angeles, Calif.) ran their way to a silver medal in 3:06.15.
Queen Harrison (Fallsburg, N.Y.) set a meet record in winning the women's 400-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 56.25. Jacquelyn Coward (Knoxville, Tenn.) collected bronze, finishing in 57.21.
Team USA went 1-2 in the men's 400m hurdles, with Johnny Dutch (Clayton, N.C.) leading compatriot Jason Perez (Houston, Texas) to the finish in 50.82 to Perez's 51.22.
2005 World Youth 100m champion and 200m silver medalist Bianca Knight (Ridgeland, Miss.) won the women's 200m in 23.17. Khrystal Carter was fourth in 23.68. On the men's side, yesterday's 100m bronze medalist Arthur Wims (Fort Wayne, Ind.) brought home the gold in 20.80 while Kyle Stevenson (Memphis, Ind.) was fourth in 21.32.
2007 U.S. Junior runner-up Alicia Rue (Plymouth, Minn.) won the women's pole vault with her clearance of 4.20 meters/13 feet 9.25 inches while 2007 U.S. Junior champion Tori Anthony (Palo Alto, Calif.) was fourth with 4.00m/13-1.5.
On his final throw of the competition, 2007 U.S. Junior champion and Junior American record-holder Christopher Hill (Sulphur, La.) moved into second place to claim silver in the men's javelin, after unleashing a throw of 71.87m/235-9.
Two-time U.S. Junior champion Ke'Nyia Richardson (Oakland, Calif.) won the gold in the women's triple jump with a mark of 13.55m/44-5.5. Ashika Charan (West Covina, Calif.) brought home bronze with her mark of 12.87m/42-2.75.
Shana Woods (Long Beach, Calif.) won two individual events en route to a silver medal in the women's heptathlon with 5,307 points. Woods won the 100m hurdles in 13.83 and the long jump with 5.70m/18-8.5.
Patience Coleman (Durham, N.C.) scored silver in the women's high jump with her height of 1.79m/5-10.5. Zuheir Sharif (Sacramento, Calif.) won silver in the men's triple jump with a mark of 16.23m/53-3. Emily Bernhardt (Marietta, Ga.) took fourth in the women's hammer throw with a toss of 52.76m/173-1.
Also on the track, Jessica Pixler (Sammamish, Wash.) dominated the women's 1,500m, winning in 4:21.09. On the men's side, it was a duel between 2007 U.S. Junior champion A.J. Acosta (El Camino, Calif.) and 2007 U.S. Junior runner-up Matthew Centrowitz (Arnold, Md.), with Centrowitz edging out Acosta to win in 3:56.63 to 3:56.64, respectively.
Lauren Forgues (Boothbay, Maine) brought home silver in the women's 10,000m race walk, finishing in 51:43.43. Emily Sisson (Omaha, Neb.) collected a bronze medal for her 17:47.81 performance in the women's 5,000m. Ryan McDermott (Long Island, N.Y.) took fifth in the men's 3,000m steeplechase in 9:22.65.
Nicholas Adcock (Kansas City, Mos.) scored silver at the conclusion of the men's decathlon Saturday with 7,074 points. Adcock won two individual events: the shot put with a heave of 14.30m/46-11 and the 110m hurdles in 14.26.
For more information and complete results from the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships, visit www.usatf.org.
Contact:
Vicky Oddi
Communications Coordinator
USA Track & Field
317-713-4670
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