T&T’s Lalonde Gordon and several other local athletes based at US universities and colleges had great starts to their respective indoor track and field season.
Gordon, who campaigns with the Zenith Velocity Athletic Club, won his season opener at the Army Crowell Open in West Point, New York, last Saturday, sprinting across the line first in the men’s 200 metres in a time of 21.40 seconds.
Gordon’s clubmate, T&T’s Moriba Morain raced in the men’s 400m and placed fifth in 51.61 in the timed final.
On the college circuit, Dwight St Hillaire, of the University of Kentucky (UK) and Dawnel Collymore, of Benedict College, were golden on the track while Tyra Gittens (Texas A&M) reached the top of the podium across on the field.
On Saturday, St Hillaire copped multiple medals at the Jingle Bells Open at Nutter Fieldhouse in Lexington, Kentucky, first winning the men’s 60m with a 6.76-clocking after qualifying from the heats with the second-fastest time of 6.91. The junior student/athlete then lined-up in the 300m and won section one, placing second overall with 33.84 in the timed final.
Later, running the anchor leg in the 4x400m relay in section one of the final, St Hillaire’s UK unit placed first in a time of 3:18.84 and was the overall winner in the eight-team event.
Benedict College senior Collymore won gold in the women’s mile final at the JDL Early Bird Invitational Meet in Winston-Salem in North Carolina on Sunday. Her winning time was 5:14.80.
Gittens success for Texas A&M came in the women’s high jump at the Reveille Invitational in College Station, Texas. The junior won with a 1.82 metres-leap.
In New Jersey, Ako Hislop, of Fairleigh Dickinson University, bagged a bronze in the men’s 55m at the Knight Indoor Classic at Fairleigh Dickinson-Rothman Centre in Hackensack. The sophomore crossed third in a time of 6.47.
Another T&T sprinter, Jada Barker opened her indoor season with a podium finish at the Dakota Classic at Shelly Ellig Indoor Track and Field Facility in Fargo, North Dakota. The Bemidji State athlete was the runner-up in the women’s 200m timed final with 25.58.
Earlier, she just missed out on a medal in the women’s 60m final after crossing in fourth place with a 7.89-clocking. This after progressing to the medal race with the second-fastest time of 7.93 in the heats.