SPECIAL TO USATF

SANTO DOMINGO, Domincan Republic – American Mickey Grimes (Ontario, Calif.) posted the fastest qualifying time in the preliminary round of the 100-meter dash to highlight the opening morning of track and field competition in the Pan American Games at Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Stadium.

Grimes, running in lane four, ran a personal best 10.08 seconds in heat one, just missing the Pan American Games record of 10.06 by Cuba's Penalver Leandro in 1983.

Marcelle Scales (Franklin, Tenn.), who won the 100 at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Championships, finished seventh in heat three in 10.96 and did not advance into the semifinal round which will be held Tuesday night.

American record holder Anna Norgren Mahon (Orange, Conn.) was fourth in the women's hammer throw at 220-1 (67.09 meters), while defending Pan American Games record holder Dawn Ellerbe (Columbia, S.C.) was fifth at 215-8 (65.75). Cuba's Yipsi Moreno broke Ellerbe's Pan American Games record of 214-5 with a personal best throw of 243-7 (74.25). Moreno's winning toss is the third best mark in the world this year.

Track and field competition at the Pan Am Games got underway at 6 a.m. EST at Parque Mirador del Sur with Americans Timothy Seaman and John Nunn finishing seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 20 km race walk.

Seaman, who competed in the 2000 Olympics, was timed in 1 hour 33 minutes 24 seconds, while improving on a ninth-place finish from the 1999 Pan American Games. Nunn, who was third in the 2003 USA Championships, was clocked in 1:35:34.

After two events in the decathlon American Stephen Moore (Plainview, Texas) led with 1,803 points after winning the 100 and finishing second in the long jump. Thirty-eight-year old Kip Janvrin (Warrensburg, Mo.), the 1995 Pan Am gold medalist and a 2000 Olympian., was in sixth place with 1,554 points. The shot put, high jump and 400 were to be contested Tuesday night.

The preliminary round in the women's 100 was canceled. Defending Pan Am silver medalist Angela Williams (Ontario, Calif.) will run in heat three of the semifinal round Tuesday night. 2002 World Junior champion Lauryn Williams (Miami, Fla.) will run in the first heat of the semifinal round of the women's 100.

For results, visit the Pan Am Games link at www.usatf.org