media_artricles :: 2013

Elton Walcott earns NJCAA silver

Trinidad and Tobago's Elton Walcott captured silver in the men's triple jump, at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Indoor Track and Field Championships, in Texas, USA, on Saturday. The South Plains College freshman disturbed the sand at 15.82 metres.

Walcott, the brother of Olympic men's javelin champion Keshorn Walcott, missed out on gold by just one centimetre. Monroe College's Mamadou Gueye, of Senegal, copped the top spot with a 15.83m jump.

Another T&T/South Plains athlete, Shun-Shauna Mason bagged bronze in the women's 55 metres dash in 6.95 seconds--the same clocking she had produced in the preliminaries. In the 200m finals, Mason was third in section one and seventh overall in 24.92.

Western Texas College student Kernesha Spann was fifth in the women's 400m finals. She got home in 56.11 seconds. Iowa Central Community College athlete Jessica James returned a time of one minute, 35.34 seconds to finish fifth in the women's 600m finals. And in the 800m, James was eighth in 2:24.98. She had clocked 2:22.13 in the qualifying round.

James' Iowa Central teammate, Dan-Neil Telesford finished 23rd overall in the men's 200m in 22 seconds flat.

Walcott's runner-up finish in the triple jump helped South Plains earn the men's team title. South Plains accumulated 177 points to finish well ahead of second-placed Iowa Central (108 points).

South Plains also emerged victorious in the women's team competition, scoring 203 points for a huge cushion on second-placed Iowa Central, the runners-up with 133 points. Western Texas earned 13 points to finish 13th.

On Friday, Akeela Bravo opened her 2013 outdoor campaign with women's discus silver at the University of North Florida (UNF) Spring Break Invitational. The Jacksonville University student threw 44.12m.

Samantha Shukla was among the T&T athletes who competed in last chance meets on the weekend, ahead of the March 8 and 9 NCAA Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Wichita State University student clocked 4:53.13 to seize silver in the Arkansas Final Qualifier women's mile.

At the Iowa State University (ISU) Qualifier, Deborah John earned women's 60m hurdles silver in 8.23 seconds, improving on the 8.32 North Dakota State University (NDSU) record she had established in the preliminary round.

NDSU head coach Ryun Godfrey was very pleased.

"It's a great feeling to see her break a school record in her last indoor race. She looked great doing it...we're extremely impressed with what she did today. She took advantage of a great day and great competition."

Olympic men's 4x400m bronze medallist Ade Alleyne-Forte got to the line in 6.99 seconds to finish second in the Louisiana State University (LSU) Indoor Invitational men's 60m dash. Another T&T athlete, Kyron Blaise was third in 7.02.

University of Southern Mississippi student Robert Collingwood copped third spot in the men's shot put with a 17.27m throw. His twin brother and teammate, Richard Collingwood produced a 16.51m effort to finish fifth.

At the ECAC/IC4A Championships in Boston, Coppin State University freshman Deandra Daniel cleared the bar at 1.75m to secure fifth spot in the women's high jump.

Morgan State University junior Emmanuel Stewart produced an 18.49m effort to finish sixth in the men's weight throw. And Long Island University (Brooklyn Campus) student Kervin Morgan was 15th overall in the men's 500m in 1:04.45.

At the Alex Wilson Invitational, in Indiana, Alena Brooks finished 11th in the women's 800m. The University of Minnesota runner clocked 2:07.19.

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