Embattled sprinter Kelly-Ann Baptiste made a winning return to competition by speeding to victory in the women's indoor 60 metres final at the LSU High Performance Meet in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA on Saturday.
The 2011 World Championships 100m bronze medallist got to the line in 7.28 seconds. Baptiste finished well ahead of Americans Kiersten Duncan (LSU) 7.59 and Da Quanya Bryd-West (Memphis) 7.70.
In the preliminaries, Baptiste was even quicker, topping the field in 7.24 seconds. The national 100m record holder is competing in her first meet in almost two years since her participation at the 2013 National Championships. Since then she has been embroiled in a doping controversy which led to her missing the 2013 World Championships. However, earlier this year the US-based sprinter was cleared to compete with immediate effect following investigation by the US Anti-doping Agency (USADA).
Olympic bronze medallist Deon Lendore (Texas A&M) notched his second victory for the season over the men's indoor 400m claiming the two lap race in 45.38 at the Tyson Invitational in Arkanas on Friday.
The winning time was an improvement on Lendore's 45.68 clocking which he set one week earlier. Lendore returned to anchor his Texas A&M University team to another win in 3:3.47.
Jereem Richards and his South Plains Junior College teammates were seventh in 3:07.69. At the same meet Steve Waithe (Penn State) secured seventh spot in the men's Invitational triple jump with a distance of 15.73m.
Sparkle McKnight (Arkansas) was 17th in the women's 400m in 53.76, just ahead of Dominique Williams (South Plains) in 18th (53.86). Williams then helped South Plains to eighth in the women's 4x400m (3:35.77).
Another South Plains student Aaliyah Telesford reached the semifinals of the women's 60m. The 2014 TTOC Junior Sportswoman of the year was 19th in 7.50 (17th in prelims-7.51). Telesford was also 39th in the 200m (24.23).
Michelle-Lee Ahye took silver in the women's 60m at the Milrose Games in New York on Saturday. The 2014 World Indoor finalist clocked 7.11 seconds to set a new season's best and missed out her national record of 7.10 established in the semifinals of the 2014 World Indoors. The 2011 Pan American Junior 100m champion was beaten to the top spot by double World Championships sprint silver medallist Murielle Ahoure of the Ivory Coast who sped to world leading time of 7.05 seconds.
However, Ahye finished ahead of a quality field with Olympic and World champion Tiana Bartoletta (USA)-7.17, World Junior relay gold medallist Tiffany Townsend (USA)-7.33, Flings Owusu-Agyayong (GHA)-7.22, World Championships relay gold medallist Muna Lee (USA)-7.25, two-time World Indoor finalist Gloria Asumnu (NIG)-7.33 and double World Junior gold medallist Shalonda Solomon (USA)-7.34 all seeing the back of the Tranquility Government Secondary graduate.
Speaking after her runner-up finish Ahye said she was thankful to God for the second place and also for finishing the race healthy.
Deandra Daniel of Coppin State won her third straight high jump title at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference(MEAC) Indoor Track and Field Championshipsi in Landover, Maryland on the weekend (Feb 12-14).
Daniel improved on her personal best and school record to 1.85cm. The Business Management major also broke the 10 year old meet record by one centimetre. With the triumph the 2008 Carifta girls Under-17 bronze medallist has won five MEAC high jump titles (three indoor and two outdoor). She also holds the conference's outdoor record. The record breaking performance is the second such in as many weeks for the after she clearing 1.84m one week earlier.