Texas A&M sophomore Deon Lendore won a national title in the 400 meters at the Trinidad & Tobago National championships on Saturday, clocking a time of 45.28 seconds to earn a trip to the World Championships in Moscow, Russia, later this summer.
Lendore bettered a field that included Jarrin Solomon (45.34) in second and Renny Quow (45.65) in third while last year’s champion Lalonde Gordon (45.67) placed fourth. Aggie teammate Carlyle Roudette finished sixth in 46.67.
Also competing in Trinidad was Wayne Davis II, who placed second in the 110 hurdles with a time of 13.30 (+3.0 wind) behind the winning mark of 13.29 by Mikel Thomas. Davis also earns a trip to the World Championships for Trinidad & Tobago.
At the USATF Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, Jessica Beard ran 51.06 to place fifth in the 400 final while running in lane eight. That position places Beard in consideration for the 4×400 relay pool for Team USA at the World Championships. Beard has earned gold medals as a member of the United States 4×400 at the 2009 and 2011 World Championships.
Natasha Hastings won the race in 49.94 with Francena McCorory second in 50.01. NCAA champion Ashley Spencer of Illinois placed third in 50.58 with Joanna Atkins in fourth at 50.77. Finishing behind Beard in sixth place was Sanya Richards-Ross in 51.92.
Running in the first round of the women’s 200 and advancing to the semifinal were Kamaria Brown (22.49w), Jeneba Tarmoh (22.23w), Olivia Ekpone (22.91w), and Porscha Lucas (22.93w). Tarmoh won the fourth and final heat, which had a +5.2 wind, while Ekpone finished fourth and Lucas was fifth. Brown ran in the first heat and placed second to Allyson Felix (22.44) as they ran with a +3.2 wind.
In the men’s 200 opening round heat victories included Ameer Webb, running a 20.30w (+3.5 wind), and Curtis Mitchell, with a 20.11w (+3.1 wind).
LaQue Moen-Davis fouled three attempts in the long jump as did five-time champion Brittney Reese.
Shameir Little, an incoming freshman from Illinois, placed fourth in the U.S. Junior 400 final with a time of 52.59. Little was the second fastest prep in the final as Texas frosh Courtney Okolo won the race in 51.04 with UCLA bound Kendall Baisden of Michigan second in 52.03. Florida frosh Robin Reynolds ran 52.13 for third ahead of Little.
The time by Little, which would rank No. 5 on the Aggie all-time list, lowers her career best mark from a 53.46 set last summer.
Lauren Bedrich finished eighth in the U.S. Junior 400 hurdle final with a time of 1:02.71 as she ran from lane one.
Tarmoh finishes fourth in 100 final with 10.93 PR, Beard reaches USATF 400 final
DES MOINES, Iowa – Jeneba Tarmoh placed fourth in the final of the 100 meters at the USATF Championships on Friday evening with a time of 10.93 while Jessica Beard advanced to the final of the 400 meters.
Competing in Trinidad, Deon Lendore (46.40) and Carlyle Roudette (47.12) were heat winners in the first round of the 400 and both advanced to the two-section final. Lendore will occupy lane five while Roudette is stationed in lane eight.
The women’s 100 final in Des Moines was won by Oregon’s English Gardner in 10.85 seconds (1.8 wind) to complete a rare NCAA-US Championship double. The last sprinter to win both titles in the same year was Carlette Guidry of Texas in 1991.
Tarmoh’s 10.93, a career best, placed her behind a 10.87 for Central Florida’s Octavious Freeman and a 10.91 for Alexandria Anderson. Muna Lee, a former volunteer assistant at Texas A&M, placed seventh in 11.00.
During the semifinals of the 100 Lauryn Williams placed fifth in 11.00, which is the fastest non-qualifier to a final ever. The previous mark was 11.04 set in the 2012 Olympics. Tarmoh ran 10.98 for fourth in the same semifinal with Williams while Lee posted an 11.07 for third place in the other heat.
In the 400 semifinals Beard placed third in her heat with a time of 51.51 to reach the finals. Donique’ Flemings ran 13.17 for seventh place in her heat of the 100 hurdles.
In U.S. Junior competition Aaliyah Brown placed sixth in the 200 final with a time of 23.82 (+3.0 wind). In first round action Shamier Little (54.00) advanced to the 400 final while Lauren Bedrich (1:00.27) qualified for the 400 hurdles final.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics