Williams sets record, heptathlon champs defend titles at USA Youth Outdoor Championships
By Kelcey Zutavern, USATF
Posted Thursday, 5 July, 2007
Lisle, Ill. - Jaela Williams won all three events and set a new national record in the bantam girls' triathlon Wednesday at the 2007 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at Benedictine University.
Williams (Adelanto, Calif.) picked up 664 of her record 1,450 points in the 200 meter dash to win the triathlon championship. The previous record of 1,373 points was set in 2000 by Kiani Profit. Margaux Jones (Redlands, Calif.) also finished strong with 589 points in the 200m to place second with 1,119 total points.
Shakeia Pinnick and Victoria Dunlap defended their titles in the intermediate girls' and young women's heptathlon.
Pinnick (Aurora, Ill.) was sitting second after day one, but used a strong 800m to repeat as the intermediate girls' champion with 4,614 points. Rebecca Neville (Merrillville, Ind.) finished second and Nefertiti Smith (Chesapeake, Va.) was third with 4,396 and 4,257 points, respectively.
Victoria Dunlap (Nashville, Tenn.), who built a 224-point lead on the first day of competition, won two of the final three events to claim the title in the young women's heptathlon with 4,838 points. Kiersten Kirkland (Moreno Valley, Calif.) was the runner-up with 4,664.
In the midget boys' pentathlon, Victor Bolden (Etiwanda, Calif.) scored 2,464 points to win the title, while James Robinson (Fontana, Calif.) finished second with 2,363.
Mark Horist (Anaheim, Calif.) and Eric Hall (Des Moines, Iowa) were first and second in the young men's decathlon with 5,521 and 5,211 points, respectively.
On the track, the finals of all the 4x800m relays were held. In the midget boys' division, the Los Angeles Jets ran away with the title in a time of 9 minutes 47.22 seconds. The Riverside County Swift Performance team was second in 10:20.04.
TOGETHER Youth Elite Track & Field defeated a strong field of competitors to win the youth girls' 4x800m with a time of 9:28.67. The team from the Gazelle Track Club was the runner-up in 9:41.14.
The USA Youth Championships continue Thursday with finals in the young men's 5,000m and intermediate boys' 3,000m, as well as several field events. Prelims for the 800m, 200m and 4x400m relays will also be held.
For more information and live results on the 2007 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships, visit www.usatf.org/events/2007/USAYouthOutdoorTFChampionships.
Contact:
Kelcey Zutavern
Communications Intern
USA Track & Field
317-261-0500
i