DEBRECEN, HUNGARY - Angel Perkins and Jonathan Wade set yearly world youth bests and won gold in the 200 meters here Sunday on the final day of the IAAF World Youth Track & Field Championships.

Perkins raced to a 23.07 clocking, setting a Championships record and lowering her personal best from 23.14. The Cerritos, Calif., high schooler also ran a 300-meter leg on the winning U.S. sprint medley relay to pick up her second gold of the meet. Perkins was named the meet's outstanding female performer for her efforts.

She was joined on the relay by Ashley Lodree (100), Allyson Felix (200) and anchor Stephanie Smith, who turned in a sterling 51.9 final 400 to give the U.S. a Championships record and world youth best of 2:03.83.

Wade, a senior-to-be at Shreveport's Evangel High School, dominated the men's 200 with a time of 20.95 and ran the opening 100-meter leg on the U.S. men's sprint medley team that won silver.

Georgia high schooler Michael Grant picked up silver in the 200 behind Wade, and ran the 200 leg on the medley relay. Willie Hordge ran the 300 leg and Jonathan Walker anchored with a 46.8 to help the Americans stop the clock at 1:50.90, .44 seconds behind winners Poland.

Team USA topped the final medals table with 15, winning five golds, seven silvers and three bronzes. Kenya had the second most medals with 10. In the team scoring, the U.S. won with 119 points, 12 ahead of Germany. Points were awarded to the top eight finishers in each event, on an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

At the inaugural World Youth Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, in 1999 the U.S. squad won seven total medals, four of them gold.

"This team came together in an incredible way," said U.S. head coach Ron Williams of Atlanta. "We faced a lot of adversity in our travel over here, and the athletes had a chance to fold without anyone blaming them, but they pulled themselves together as a team and did a super job."

Team manager and USA Track & Field Youth Chair Bob Flint, a veteran of the '99 meet, said, "We made a quantum leap with this team. Our kids got themselves into finals that we never expected them to, and there were so many personal and season bests. It's a tribute to the athletes and their coaches back home that they were so well-prepared to overcome problems and produce medals."

U.S. team chief Kim Haines, the immediate past chairman of the USATF Youth Athletics Committee, noted the improvement in American field event results, saying, "In the past we knew we would have a good number of finalists and medalists in the sprints and hurdles, but this batch of field event performances shows that our new emphasis on grass roots programs and development is paying off. We had a bunch of good efforts in the jumps and throws, including three medals."

The IAAF World Youth Championships are for athletes ages 15-17, and are held every odd year. The next edition is scheduled for July 9-13 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. U.S. teams are primarily selected based on performances at the USATF Junior Olympics and Youth Athletics Nationals.

Other notes from Sunday:

-- Kamesha Whitmire leaped 5.97/19-7 to place sixth in the women's long jump. Triple jump bronze medalist Michelle Sanford ended up in a tie for 11th at 5.45/17-10.75.

-- For the second straight race, Floridian Rolf Steier set a personal best in the 1500 meters, crossing the line in eighth place at 3:53.62. Adam Perkins of Liberty, Mo., was 12th in 4:02.90.

-- Alabama's Abraham Jones placed ninth in the men's triple jump with a leap of 14.56/47-9.25

-- Javelin thrower Dustin Johnson placed 10th in the men's event with a throw of 57.10/187-4.

-- A win in the final event helped Ashley Selig to a 15th-place overall finish in the women's heptathlon. Selig, who clocked 2:20.77 to win the 800, scored a personal best 4674 points in the seven-eventer.

TEAM USA MEDALISTS

GOLD: Allyson Felix (100, Sprint Medley); Angel Perkins (200, Sprint Medley); Stephanie Smith (400, Sprint Medley); Ashley Lodree (Sprint Medley); Jonathan Wade (200).

SILVER: Michelle Carter (shot put); Jerrika Chapple (400); Ashley Lodree (100 hurdles); Willie Hordge (100, Sprint Medley); Michael Grant (200, Sprint Medley); Jonathan Walker (400 hurdles, Sprint Medley); Jonathan Wade (Sprint Medley).

BRONZE: Michelle Sanford (triple jump); Amarachi Ukabam (discus); Jonathan Wade (100).

MEDAL COUNT (Top 5 nations): 1, USA 15; 2, Kenya 10; 3, Russia 9; 4, Australia 7; 5, Germany & Qatar 6.

POINT STANDINGS: 1, USA 119; 2, Germany 107; 3, Russia 92; 4, Kenya 82; 5, South Africa 69.