American Ebony Collins (© Kirby Lee The Sporting Image)
Ebony Collins clocked the fastest youth time ever by a female in the 400m Hurdles to conclude the USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Tom Black Track in Knoxville, Tennessee.
In a final tune-up for the World Youth Championships in Morocco, Collins used the inside lane to her advantage clocking 57.87 to set a 400m Hurdles record in the intermediate girls division bettering the 58.84 set in 2001 by Talia Stewart.
"I like running on the inside lane because I can see everybody ahead of me," said Collins. "I figured if I ran close to April (Williams) the last 150 metres that I would have a good time."
A 16-year-old, Collins' performance also betters the young women's division 400m Hurdles record of 57.94 set in 2001 by Tiffany Ross of Miami. Later in the afternoon, Collins of Los Angeles ran 11.82 to finish second in the 100m dash.
"I was just tired. Other than that, I think it was a smooth race," Collins continued.
Team USA member Bianca Knight of Mississippi won the intermediate girls 100m crown in 11.68 seconds. Knight's performance would have also won the 100m in the young women's division.
Collins' fellow World Youth team member April Williams finished second in the 400m Hurdles with a time of 1:01.29. Later in the afternoon, Williams of Dallas, Texas won the intermediate girls 100m Hurdles in 13.96 seconds.
David Klech of San Ramon, Calif., clocked a personal best time in the 400m Hurdles. The 17-year-old Klech ran 51.28 to win the young men's division in a close finish over runner-up Tarvaris Washington, (51.63) of Georgia.
"I'm excited that I ran a new PR. I got out really hard and held my composure throughout the race," said Klech. He will attempt to better his PR in two weeks at the World Youth Championships. "I know I can go faster and I hope to do it in Morocco. I'm nervous, but excited to run against international competition for the first time," Klech continued.
World Youth team member Brandi Cross of Houston, Texas, ran as fast as she could to get out of the rain.
"It was raining and I don't like running in the rain," said Cross. "I was just trying to hurry up and finish the race as fast as I could to get out of the rain." The 17-year-old Cross ran 53.51 to win the 400m in the young women's division. "I'm anxious to compete in Morocco. The competition will be really tough there," Cross continued.
Cordera Jenkins of Dickinson, Texas kept his composure in the rain to win the young men's 110m Hurdles in 13.81 seconds. "I got a good start and wanted to maintain my composure," said Jenkins. I kept tracking into the ground to make sure that I was not slipping on the wet track."
World Youth team member Theresa Lewis of Randallstown, Md., cruised to win the 100m Hurdles young women's division in 13.94 seconds.
Scott Roth of Granite Bay, Calif., cleared the first three heights on his first attempt in the young men's pole vault competition. "I cleared all my heights on my first attempt except for the last one (height)," said Roth. "I thought I would PR because the wind (weather) was good."
The 17-year-old Roth won with a clearance of 5.00m/16-4.75 to beat 2005 USA Juniors pole vault champion Michael Morrison, who also cleared the same height to finish second. Jordan Scott (4.85m/15-11) of Watkinsville, Ga., finished in third-place. "This was not my day," said Scott. "I could not get the standards right."
Roth, Morrison and Scott will compete in the pole vault competition for Team USA at the World Youth Championships. "I'm proud to represent the U.S. in Morocco," said Morrison. Jordan Scott always dreamed the day he would compete internationally. "This is something I dreamed of - competing worldwide," said Scott. "I never thought it would come true this early," Scott continued.
Khrystal Carter of San Jose, Calif., ran 11.72 seconds to win the young women's 100m crown. In a thrilling 100m final, David Chaplin of Georgia won the young men's title by a nose with a time of 10.77 followed by runner-up Evander Wells who finished in 10.78.
For more information on the 2005 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships, including results and complete coverage of this year's event, visit the USATF website at www.usatf.org.
