media_artricles :: 2013

T&T’s Thomas earns NCAA all-American honours

Reyare Thomas earned all-American honours at the end of the NCAA Division two indoor track and field season. The Abilene Christian student was recognised for her performances in the women's 60 metres, 200m and 4x400m relay after her top eight finishes in the events at last weekend's Division II Championships in Birmingham, Alabama.

Thomas was fourth in the 200m in 23.51 seconds, a personal best and a school record, sixth in the 60m (7.45) and helped her school to fifth in the 4x400m. The 2009 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Senior Championships 200m bronze medallist earned eight of her team’s 24 points as Abilene Christian finished 10th on the women's team standings at the indoor champs. Thomas ended the indoor season as Abilene's top performer in the 60m and 200m. Steve Waithe of Shippenburg also earned an-All American honor with his 7th place finish in the men's triple jump.

In division one Hilenn James (Georgia) captured her first All-American recognition after her seventh place finish in the women's shot put at the NCAA Division One Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. James broke her school's record with a distance of 17.03, a new personal best for the South East Port-of-Spain Secondary graduate. Meanwhile, national women's shot put record holder Cleopatra Borel is happy with her recent trip to Australia where she was second in the women's shot put at the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday. The multiple-Sport Woman of the Year title holder finished in the runner-up spot with a distance of 17.10.

Borel was also second in Auckland on March 2 with a throw of 17.13. The two-time Commonwealth and Pan American Games medallist said while in Australia she trained with the 2008/2012 Olympic Champion Valarie Adams of New Zealand who denied her victory in her two meets so far for 2013. "Australia was a good learning experience for me. I trained with Valarie Adams and her coach. I learnt new drills, worked on technique and weight lifting. "The reigning CAC Games champion was impressed with the New Zealand High Performance Centre during her visit to that country. I trained at there. It was everything you could dream for."

Borel was speaking after her return trip from Australia en route to Cuba, where she will be joining Olympic men's javelin champion Keshorn Walcott, national men's discus record holder Quincy Wilson and top junior shot putter Hezekeil Romeo for a two-month training stint. The trio left for Cuba Saturday along with coach Ishmael Lopez Mastrapha.

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