Contact: Melissa Beasley
USA Track & Field
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 17, 2000
Gerraughty fourth in shot put; Team USA athletes advance
at World Juniors
SANTIAGO, Chile -- Team USA opened the first day of competition at the 8th IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships with strong outings across the board.
High schoolers Laura Gerraughty (Nashua HS (NH)) and Jessica Cosby led the United States in the women's shot put final. With only 15 entries, no qualifying round was held. Gerraughty placed fourth overall with a best mark of 15.71m (51-6.50) and Cosby finished ninth with 14.93 (48-11.75). Germany's Kathleen Kluge took the gold with a throw of 17.37 (57-0), followed by China's Meiju Li (16.57/54-4.5) and Belarus' Natallia Kharaneka (16.40/53-9.75).
Khalilah Carpenter and Consuella Moore both advanced to the semifinals of the women's 100 meters. In heat one, Moore finished fourth (11.83) while Carpenter was third (11.66) in Heat 3. In the men's 100 meters, Monzavous "Rae" Edwards qualified for the semifinals with a third place finish (10.56) in Heat 4. Andra Fifer failed to qualify (10.69) out of Heat 2.
In the women's long jump, Yolanda Thompson (Florida) qualified with a best mark of 6.02m (19-9.0) and will be in Wednesday's women's long jump final. Tameisha King (Notre Dame) failed to qualify with a mark 5.72m (18-9.25).
In the men's 800 meters, Nick Devenport (Baylor) qualified for Wednesday's final with a second-place finish in his heat. Devenport started strong, leading for the first 600 meters. Spain's Antonio Manuel Reina overtook Devenport in the last 200 meters, finishing 1:50.84 to Devenport's 1:51.15, respectively.
In the qualifying round of the women's hammer competition Tuesday morning, Cari Soong impressed with a first-throw qualifier of 58.22m (191-0). Overall Soong ranked sixth. Croatia's Ivana Brkljacic was the only junior to throw better that 60 meters (62.05m/203-6). Katherine Johnston started off in tough company in qualifying. The 16-year-old from Rhode Island threw 52.81 (173 feet, 3 inches) meters on her first attempt for her best mark of the day. 2000 Olympic Gold medalist Kamila Skolimowska of Poland fouled on her first two attempts and threw 51.84 meters (170-1) on her third throw. Although Johnston did not qualify for the final, she found her own victory in throwing farther than Skolimowska.
In other morning-session action, Khalilah Carpenter and Consuella Moore both advanced to the semifinals of the 100 meters. Carpenter, fighting off a cold, got a solid start in her heat and finished strong in 11.84 seconds. Moore, despite a stumble out of the blocks, battled to finish third (11.85) and earn a bid to the semifinals.
In the men's 100 meters, Monzavous "Rae" Edwards stepped off of the plane, onto the track and broke the tape first in his heat with a time of 10.51. Edwards, who was scheduled to arrive in Santiago on Sunday with the team, experienced problems receiving his passport and did not arrive in Santiago until Tuesday morning, just hours before his race. Andra Fifer also qualified for the 100 meters semifinal with a third place finish in his heat (10.73).
High schoolers LaTasha Pharr and Ashlee Williams both failed to qualify in the 100 meter hurdles. Pharr, with her right leg bandaged, finished seventh in her heat (14.82). Williams finished third in her heat (14.04).
For complete results, visit the official IAAF Web site: http://www.iaaf.org/wjc00/index.asp
TEAM USA QUOTES - Oct. 17 afternoon and morning sessions
Afternoon session
Women's Shot Put final
Jessica Cosby, Cleveland HS (Calif.): "Not very many people even get the chance to come and compete overseas and I think it was a good international experience for myself. I'mlooking forward to doing it again."
Men's 800 Meters 1st round
Nick Devenport, Baylor: "I ran a really even, really smooth race. I had to push at the end (the top three qualify for the next day) I just wanted a smooth cruise-on-in-finish. It's the best prelim race I've ever had as far as saving energy and being prepared physically for the semifinal tomorrow."
Morning session
Women's Hammer Qualifying
Cari Soong, UCLA: "I just really wanted to get in there (on the first throw) and get a qualifier so I really tried to get myself excited. Afterwards the energy was just overflowing."
Katherine Johnston, Warwick Veteran HS (RI):"It makes it a little more exciting that some people didn't have as good of marks as they should have had. (2000 Olympic Gold Medalist Kamila Skolimowska had 2 fouls and a mark of 51.84) I was expecting to throw a little better, but I'm glad to just be here for the experience and its been great so far, being here with all these elite athletes."
On beating Skolimowska in the competition: "Kinda of a plus, I didn't make the finals, but I beat a gold medalist. That's kinda cool."
Women's 100m 1st Round
Consuella Moore, Penn State: "The start of my race was really terrible, but I did what I had to do to catch up. I was able to refocus and still finish third. I will go back and work on a couple of block starts, get my mindset and just take it from there."
Khalilah Carpenter, Columbus Brookhaven HS (Ohio): "It's more mental right now, considering that I have been under the weather, but I can't let that be in my mind all the time. If I keep thinking about it, then I'm going to worry about it. So I try not to think about it."
On the Chileans mobbing the juniors for autographs and photos: "I feel like they think we are going to be in the next Olympics. I think that says a lot about us."
Men's 100m 1st Round
Andra Fifer, University of Texas at Arlington: "First round, I just wanted to qualify, set myself straight and get a feel for everything. For the next round, I just want to get my own race together and take it from there."
Monzavous "Rae" Edwards, Bevill State CC (Ala.) NOTE: Rae experience travel problems and arrived in Santiago early Tuesday, less than 3 hours prior to his race: "This was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I did not even know how to prepare for this. I tried so hard to get here, so when I got here, it really didn't bother me. I just wanted to train, focus, get through the first round and then rest."
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