News16 Apr 2009


Beijing Olympians Headline Mt. San Antonio College Relays

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Kerron Clement beats Danny McFarlane in the 400m hurdles (© Getty Images)

Walnut, USABeijing Olympic medallists Allyson Felix, Sheena Tosta, Tasha Danvers (GBR), Kerron Clement and Shawn Crawford will be among the marquee competitors in the 51st annual Mt. San Antonio College Relays at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on Thursday though Saturday (16-18 April).

Felix will team with training partners Michelle Perry, Ginnie Powell and Natasha Hastings in the invitational women’s 4x100m Relay on Saturday.

Felix, the 2004 and 2008 Olympic silver 200m medallist, has been a fixture at the meet in the Los Angeles suburb since her high school days at nearby L.A. Baptist where she set a U.S. national high school record as a senior in 2003.

Felix has also confirmed that she will be running in the Sprint Medley Relay with a lineup that has yet to be determined but may include 2008 Olympic 100m Hurdles champion Dawn Harper.

The men’s 4X100m Relay will feature a quartet that includes a Bobby Kersee-coached team of Crawford, Clement, Rod Martin and Craig Everhart and an HSI relay team with Leroy Dixon, Tyrone Edgar and Martial Mbandjock (FRA). A Great Britain team with Dwain Chambers, who will run in the 200m, may also run.

Tosta and Danvers, the 2008 Olympic silver and bronze medallists in the women’s 400m Hurdles, will run in the flat 400m at Mt. SAC.

Jeter and Edwards lead Women’s Sprints

World Championships medallists Carmelita Jeter and Torri Edwards, training partners under John Smith, will run in the women’s 200m that also includes Natasha Hastings, Shana Cox and Puerto Rican national and USC school record holder Carol Rodriguez.

Jeter, the 2007 World Championships bronze medallist in the 100m, will face Rodriguez, 2008 USATF Indoor 60m champion Hasani Roseby and 2008 Pacific-10 Conference champion Charonda Williams of Arizona State. LaShaunte’a Moore, a 2004 U.S. Olympian, will run in the 100m and 200m.

Dixon, a 2007 World Championships 4 x 100m Relay gold medallist, headlines the men’s 100m. Dixon will be challenged by Mickey Grimes and Rubin Williams, both of whom are also entered in the 200m, Mbandjock and Edgar.

Middle Distances

Geena Gall of Michigan, the reigning NCAA 800m champion, and Alysia Johnson, the 2007 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor and USATF champion, will run in both the women’s 800m and 1500m.

The women’s 1500m also features Marilyn Okoro (GBR), the 2007 World Athletics bronze medallist in the 800m and Delilah DeCrescenzo, who ran on the U.S. senior women’s team that was fifth in the 2009 World Cross Country Championships, and Washington freshman Christine Babcock, who set a then national high school record in the 1600m on the Mt. SAC track last June, will also run.

Athens Olympic semifinalist Jonathan Johnson, 2006 NCAA champion Ryan Brown and 2007 U.S. World Championships team member Duane Solomon are the prominent runners in the 800m.

Chris Lukezic, Brent Vaughn and Evan Jager are among the entrants in the men’s 1500m.

American Record Holder Arnold in 110m Hurdles

The 110m Hurdles will feature Washington State stars of the past and present with Dominique Arnold and Jeshua Anderson.

Arnold, 35, has been plagued by ankle, groin and hamstring injuries since setting his American record of 12.90 in 2006. He has recently started training with Dan Pfaff at the U.S. Olympic Training center to regain his form.

At Mt. SAC, Arnold will race Jeshua Anderson, a sophomore at Arnold’s alma mater Washington State who won the 2008 NCAA and World Junior titles in the 400m Hurdles and 2003 NCAA champion Ryan Wilson.

Anderson will also run in the longer hurdles at Mt. SAC that will also include high school senior Reggie Wyatt, the U.S. national freshman and sophomore record holder in the 300m Hurdles.

The women’s 100m Hurdles are highlighted by Angela Whyte (CAN), Yvette Lewis and 2007 NCAA Indoor champion Shantia Moss.

In the women’s 400m Hurdles, Lashinda Demus, the 2005 World Championships silver medallist, continues her comeback after giving birth to twin sons in 2006. The race will face the top two runners on the U.S. high school 300m hurdle list with Demus and Ebony Collins, who both attend Long Beach Wilson (Calif.).

Also in the field is Angel Perkins, a 2008 World Championships bronze medallist in the 4x400m Relay who took up the 400m Hurdles last season and advanced to the U.S. Olympic Trials final and Latosha Wallace.

Acuff and Dragila Make Final Mt. SAC Appearances

Amy Acuff and Stacy Dragila will make their final Mt. SAC appearances this weekend after announcing their retirements after the 2009 season.

Acuff, a four-time U.S. Olympian, 33, will compete in the women’s High Jump along with 2005 World Championships silver medallist Chaunte Howard and defending NCAA champion Elizabeth Patterson of Arizona.

Dragila, 38, the inaugural 2000 Olympic women’s Pole Vault champion and former world record holder, will jump against Chelsea Johnson, Lacy Janson and Melinda Owen.

Two-time Olympian Jamie Nieto headlines the men’s high jump.

Americans Toby Stevenson and Tommy Skipper be part of a men’s Pole Vault competition with in international representation with national record holders Giovanni Lanaro (MEX) and Yoo Kim (KOR) along with Daichi Sawano (JAP).

In the women’s Long Jump, 2005 World Champion Tianna Madison, 2006 Mt. SAC Relays winner Akiba McKinney and Jacquelyn Johnson are the key entrants.

Johnson, a 2008 U.S. Olympian in the Heptathlon, will also compete in the 100m Hurdles.

The top entrants in the women’s Triple Jump are Trecia Smith (JAM), the 2005 World Champion and Shani Marks.

The men’s Long Jump has 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials Champion Trevell Quinley, 2008 NCAA Indoor Champion Reindell Cole of Cal State Northridge, Tony Allmond and Norris Frederick.

White Looking for a Big Throw in the Javelin

Corey White of Southern California will be looking to continue his momentum in the Javelin after throwing 82.97m for the No. 2 mark in the World at the Texas Relays on 4 Apr.

The women’s Javelin features U.S. record holder Kim Kreiner, 2008 Olympian Inga Stasiulionyte (LIT) and Linda Brivule of Abilene Christian (LAT).

Jared Rome will double in the Shot Put and the Discus Throw. Noah Bryant, the 2007 NCAA Shot Put champion and World Championships team member, is another one to watch.

The men’s Hammer will be led by Jake Freeman, A.G. Kruger, Kibwe Johnson and Libor Charfreitag (SVK).

A competitive women’s Shot Put is anticipated with 2008 U.S. Olympians Michelle Carter and Jillian Camarena. Liz Wanless and Jessica Pressley of Arizona State could also be in the mix.

Three of the top four finishers from the women’s Hammer in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials will be at Mt. SAC with Jessica Cosby (first), Amber Cambell (second) and Loree Smith (fourth). Eva Orban of Southern California is the defending NCAA champion.

Famiglietti and Solinsky Slated for 5000m

The 5000m will pit 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials Steeplechase champion Anthony Famiglietti and Chris Solinksy, the 2005 and 2006 NCAA 5000m Champion. Juan Luis Barrios (MEX), Stephen Haas, Fernando Cabada and Jacob Korir are also in the race.

In the women’s 5000m, Christin Wurth-Thomas, Amy Hastings, Maureen McCandless and Nicole Edwards are runners to watch.

The women’s steeplechase features 2008 U.S. Olympian Lindsey Anderson, Lisa Galaviz and Minori Hayakari (JAP).

Gray and Stolley Inducted to Mt. SAC Hall of Fame

Johnny Gray, the American record holder in the 800m, and VS Athletics coach Skip Stolley are the 2009 inductees to the Mt. SAC Relays Hall of Fame.

Gray, who set the American record holder of 1:42.60 in 1985, coaches with Quincy Watts at Harvard-Westlake High School which will be competing at Mt. SAC this weekend.

Stolley currently is chairman of the USATF Club Council and holds track & field executive committee positions within both USATF and the U.S. Track Coaches Association.  He has been selected as a coach for five USA National Teams in international competitions and will be the U.S. men’s Coach for the 2009 Pan American Junior Championships.

Kirby Lee for the IAAF

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