T&T’s Deon Lendore running unattached was made to battle in the men’s 400 metres at the Michael Johnson Invitational at the Baylor-Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium in Waco, Texas in the United States but he did just enough to emerge the winner.
The T&T quarter-miler crossed in a time of 46.27 seconds on Saturday to edge Baylor Junior Howard Fields III (46.28) at the line in section six, the fastest of the six heats in the time finals. In a far-off third place was Arizona junior Maj Williams with 46.58.
Also competing at the Michael Johnson Invitational meet were T&T’s Sparkle McKnight and Tyra Gittens of the Texas A&M University.
McKnight, also running unattached, placed 11th in the women’s 400m hurdles in 1:01.55, after crossing the line fifth in section four.
NCAA heptathlon women’s champion Gittens competed in two events but did not reach the podium in either. The Texas A&M junior placed eighth in the javelin throw with 39.24m and ended in 10th spot in the shot put event with a 12.22m-throw.
Another T&T pro athlete active on the weekend was Emmanuel Callender who raced in the men’s 100m dash at the Velocity Fest No 9 at the National Stadium in Kingston Jamaica. The former national sprint champion of Swept Track Club crossed third in section six of six in the timed final with 10.80 seconds to place 16th overall.
Back in the US, at the Arkansas State University (ASU) Red Wolf Open, Arkansas-Pine Bluff sophomore Safiya John picked up two gold medals and a silver, while her schoolmates freshman Clement Campbell Jr won a gold, Caitlin Ragoonanan, another first year student athlete, won a bronze while sophomore Franklyn Stanislaus just missed out on podium finishes in the two events he competed in and Joanna Rogers also did not finish among the medals.
John topped the women’s long jump event with her best leap measuring 5.86m. Her other two medals came on the track with her placing second in the 100m hurdles with a wind-assisted (3.3) 13.74. She was among the Arkansas-Pine Bluff quartet that won the 4x100m relay with 46.25.
In the men’s version of the sprint relay, Clement Jr and Stanislaus as part of the Arkansas-Pine Bluff team placed fourth with 42.95. Rogers, a freshman, placed eighth in the women's 800m with a time of 2:23.89.
Over on the field, Campbell Jr won the men's long jump with 7.42m while in the high jump event, Stanislaus cleared the bar at 1.87m to finish sixth. Ragoonanan placed third in the women's triple jump (11.42) and 14th in the long jump (4.09).
On Sunday, Fairleigh Dickinson sophomore Ako Hislop competed in three track events and got success in the team events at the Monmouth Spring Invitational in West Long Branch, New Jersey. He helped the 4x100m relay team to second place with 41.70 and finished fifth in both sprint events - 100m with 11.08 (0.8w) and 200m with 22.39 (0.5w).
At the Running Eagles Open in Marietta, Georgia on Saturday, Iantha Wright of Life University picked up three gold medals. The freshman sprinted to victory in the women’s 100m dash with a 12.04-clocking (-0.2w) and then helped her team to victory in the relay events - 4x100m (46.93) and 4x400m (3:59.45).
University of Southern California (USC) freshman Rae-Ann Serville was also a fifth-place finisher in the women’s 400m with 53.02 at the Long Beach Invitational in California which took place Friday and Saturday.
Ohio State senior Eric Harrison, Minnesota freshman Kion Benjamin Naomi Campbell of Purdue also competed on the weekend at the Husker Big 10 Invite in Prairie View, Texas.
Harrison struck gold in both events he raced in. He won the men's 100m dash 10.34 (1.6) while Benjamin placed seventh in 10.53. Both sprinters met again in the 4x100m relay and Harrison's team nabbed gold in 39.80 winning section two of the timed finals while Benjamin's Minnesota crossed second in section one with 41.23 to place eighth overall.
Benjamin also competed in the 200m and place eighth with 21.41 (4.4w).
Meanwhile, Campbell placed 25th in the 100m with 12.30 (-1.6w), 17th in the 200m with 25.12 (3.3w) and her unit was fourth in the 4x100m with 45.79.
At the Belhaven Invitational, Jackson State freshman Adel Coltrust placed third in the men's 100m in 10.54 (0.9).