Lewis barely misses record at Youth Outdoors

BALTIMORE - Fresh off a win at the 3A Maryland high school state championships also held on the campus of Morgan State University, Theresa Lewis has the best time heading into Sunday's 100m hurdles final.

The Western High School junior ran unchallenged to win the event in 13.86 which is .05 seconds off of the intermediate girls record set in 1984 by Yolanda Johnson. "I feel good and I just have to keep it up," said Lewis. "This is the fastest time I've ever run."

The 16-year-old Baltimore native, Lewis has been running since the age of 7 and competing in the hurdles since she was 13. "I'm confident on the track," said Lewis. "I know on Sunday everyone will be trying to beat me, but I'm just going to go out and be myself."

On a day where the heat and humidity seemed continuously rising, the young athletes battled the elements turning in solid performances. In the young girls javelin, D'Auria Barker of Quiet Fire track club outdistanced the competition to win with a throw of 32.52m/106-8, bettering second place finisher Morgan Wheeler of Averill Park who threw 26.95m/88-5.

In the midget girls 3000m, Claudia Francis won in a time of 10:44 seconds to beat second place Kasia Taylor (10:48). In the bantam girls long jump Raymona Carryl won with a jump of 4.48m/14-4.50 to beat Alexis Faulknor who jumped 4.17m/13-08.25. The youth boys pole vault was won by Gray Horn in 4.05m/13-03.50 to easily beat second place finisher Alex Smith's leap of 3.60m/11-09.75.

Tori Allen, a member of last summer's World Youth Championships team that competed in Sherbrooke, Canada, won the intermediate girls pole vault with a best of 3.30m/10-10. Other members of that team in competition today included Cody Harper, who advanced in the young men's 800.

For more information on the 2004 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the Verizon Youth Series, including results and complete coverage of this year's event, visit the USATF website at www.usatf.org.