Anderson, Hall named Verizon Athletes of the Meet at JOs

EUGENE Ore. - Alexandria Anderson and Kenneth Hall were named Verizon Youth Athletes of the Meet to conclude the 38^th USATF Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships at the University of Oregon's historic Hayward Field.

World Juniors 4x400m gold medalist Alexandria Anderson cruised to her third gold medal of the meet after she ran 52.87 to win the young women's 400m. "It's just a blessing to win three gold medals. I know what I had to do coming in the 400m," said Anderson. The 17-year-old native of Chicago, Ill., was more focused and relaxed as she approached the 150 meter mark. "I got out the first 100m and maintained my speed and then I picked up my speed down the straightaway. I did not tense up around 150m to go," Anderson continued.

Yesterday, Anderson cruised to her first gold medal of the Junior Olympics after she ran 23.45 in the young women's 200m finals. Later on in the afternoon, Anderson a senior at Morgan Park High School leaped to her second gold medal with a mark of 5.86 meters/19 feet, 2.75 inches in the young women's long jump.

Hall broke a national high school record to win the young men's triple jump to highlight the third day of competition. A Baton Rouge, La., native Hall leaped 16.72m/54-10.25 on his third attempt to break the previous high school triple jump record of 16.44m/53-11.25 set by Greg Yeldell (E. Spencer, N.C.) at the 1998 World Junior Championships in Annecy, France.

The 18-year-old Hall also bettered the long-standing young men's triple jump record of 16.01m/52-6.50 set in 1991 by Ron Jones of Dallas, Texas. The Tara High School senior also wowed the crowd on his fourth attempt with a windy mark of 17.13m/56-2.50 (+4.6). In the young men's long jump, Hall leaped a windy 7.79m/25-6.75 to grab his second gold. Ironically, Ron Jones a photographer was at the meet to witness his record broken by Hall. "When I heard the crowd go 'whew,' I knew it (the record) was coming. Records were made to be broken," said Hall. "I'm glad that my record lasted as long as it did and it was kind of cool to see Kenneth (Hall) break it."

Bianca Knight of Jackson, Miss., grabbed her second individual gold medal after she won the intermediate girls 400m in 52.96. "I just had to go out and take the race early. I'm glad everything went the way it was supposed to be (to win the race)," said Knight. "I wanted to run 52 and I did. There was a lot more strain because of moving to an older age group and competition being harder. I am glad that it is all over," Knight continued.

World Juniors 110m bronze medalist, Kevin Craddock owned up to his words to accomplish the goal to break a record. The 2004 USA Juniors 110m hurdles champion ran 13.57 seconds to better the 13.63 set in 1998 by Justin Hyde of Dallas, Texas. World Junior 100m silver medalist, Jasmine Baldwin ran 11.75 seconds to grab a gold medal in the young women's 100m dash. "I really got out faster, but I still need work on the blocks," said Baldwin. "I am happy to just put on a show."

In just their first year competing in track & field, a rivalry developed that could last for years to come as Roblet Muhudin of Denver, Colo., thrilled the crowd to hold off a late surge from Musa Ahmed of Portland, Ore., to win the midget boys 1,500m in 4:30.37. "I knew he (Ahmed) would try to sprint at the end. He (Ahmed) always does that. Every time we race, we always miss the record," said Muhudin. The 12-year-old originally from Somalia was not outwitted from the 3,000m finals. "He (Ahmed) tricked me in the 3,000m because he came out of nowhere," Muhudin said. The 12-year-old originally from Ethiopia, Ahmed ran 4:30.41 to finish in second-place. "It's all about pacing, the second lap was so slow and I got too comfortable," said Ahmed. "I knew I could get with him at the end. The 3,000m took a lot out of me because we were going back and forth (with the lead)," Ahmed continued.

Jordon Hasay of San Luis Ibispo, Calif., grabbed her second gold medal after she won the youth girls 1,500m in 4:36.60. The 11-year-old Hasay ran 4:34.02 to set a youth girls record on in the qualifying round 1,500m on July 30. "My first lap was too fast so I tried to slow down, but the other girls were pushing on," said Hasay. "It's been a great experience to compete and it's been fun." Yesterday, Hasay set a youth girls record to win the 3,000m.

Darren Fahy of the San Diego Southern California RoadRunners ran 4:47.62 to better bantam boys' record of 4:48.04 set in 2001 by Connor Revord of Joliet, Ill in the 1,500m. Nicole Cochran of Spanaway, Wash., won the intermediate girls 1,500m in a time of 4:33.54. "I was just trying to judge how fast everyone would go out. I did not want to sprint from the beginning," said Cochran. "My split was slow the second lap which threw me off, but I did get a PR.

Bryshon Nellum of Long Beach Poly HS, (Calif.) grabbed his second gold medal to win the intermediate boys 400m final in 47.27 seconds. "I was a little nervous today. I almost missed my race because I got to the track late," said Nellum. "I had the advantage of being on the inside because I ran off someone else's pace the first lap and then ran my own, after that I just turned it on and kept strong. That's the best part of my race," Nellum continued.

The 4x100m relays had some exciting finishes with the West Side Kickers (41.45) winning the intermediate boys, coming from behind to beat the Southern California Running Cougars (41.47). 3M Track Club won the intermediate girls in 46.85 followed by Quiet Fire in second place with a time of 47.30. In the 4x400m relays, the Southern California Running Cougars (3:13.72) barely edged Track Houston (3:13.9) which finished second in the intermediate boys division. In an highly contested youth girls final, 3M Track Club (3:50.04) won followed by runner-up Miami Northwest Express (3:50.68) and Baton Rouge YMCA (3:50.80) to finish third.

Today's competition was the final stop this summer on the Verizon Youth Series; the 2004 series will officially conclude this fall with the USATF Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships in Schaumburg, Ill. In addition to Junior Olympics, the Verizon Youth Series includes the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships and the USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Competition age divisions are: Bantam (10 and under), Midget (11-12), Youth (13-14), Intermediate (15-16) and Young Men/Women (17-18).

There will be a tape delayed broadcast the last three days of competition. The tape delay is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, August 3, and may be accessed from usatf.org. "The USATF Junior Olympics is one of our favorite meets because of the top notch athletes and the enthusiasm of the fans," said Chris Fyall of i2Sports. "We know athletes like to come back and watch themselves (on the webcast). We are thinking of the friends and families who could not make the trip as we film. It's our fourth year doing this meet with this field being great to watch all the events at the same time," Fyall continued.

The 2005 USATF Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships will be conducted in Indianapolis, Ind.

For more information on the 2004 USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Championships, all USATF Youth programs and the Verizon Youth Series, visit the USATF website at www.usatf.org.