Jeneba Tarmoh wins NACAC 100m gold as Aggies earn three medals
Jul 09, 2010 | Track and Field
July 9, 2010
MIRAMAR, Florida - Texas A&M sprinter Jeneba Tarmoh added another international gold medal to her resume as a wind-aided time of 11.00 seconds in the 100 meters blew away the field at the North American, Central American, and Caribbean (NACAC) Championships on Friday.
Two other Aggies - Ashika Charan and Curtis Mitchell competes in the 200 and is part of the relay pool for the United States 4 x 100.
With a career best time under any conditions for Tarmoh, she won the race by nearly three meters over a pair of LSU sprinters. Samantha Henry, representing Jamaica, claimed silver in 11.25 while Kenyanna Wilson, a U.S. teammate of Tarmoh's at this meet, earned bronze in 11.32.
"It was very comfortable running against collegians again," noted Tarmoh. "I've run against a few of the other sprinters in the 100 here before. I was just trying to do what I needed to do for a good time and the win.
"It's been great to focus on one race after the NCAA Championships. I was so tired from running both the 100 and 200 as well as both relays. I can focus on the 100 as I try to lower my best time a bit more. After this weekend, though, I get to relax and focus on summer school."
Tarmoh, a 100-meter gold medalist at the 2008 World Juniors in Poland, has 4 x 100 relay duty for the U.S. team remaining this weekend at the NACAC under-23 meet. Tarmoh's previous wind-aided personal best in the 100 was an 11.05 she recorded in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships in Eugene recently.
"I'll run the first leg on the 4 x 100," said Tarmoh. "I like to run the first leg since I can put the team in a good position. Plus when I'm at a meet where I'll be in the 200 as well, running that leg helps prepare me for the 200 since I run the curve on the opening leg of the relay."
In the women's triple jump Charan earned silver for the United States team with a windy best of 43-9.75 (13.35). Charan also produced a mark of 43-7.25 in her series as she finished behind Jamaica's Kimberly Williams of Florida State, who won with a windy 46-4.75 (14.14) on her first attempt. Another Jamaican, LSU's Melissa Ogbourne, used a wind-aided best of 43-1.5 (13.14) to place third.
During the recent NCAA Championships Williams and Ogbourne finished fourth and fifth in the triple jump while Charan placed eighth. Charan then set an American collegiate leading mark of 44-4 for the 2010 season in placing fifth at the U.S. Championships.
The men's 400 final featured three sprinters from the Big 12. In addition to A&M's Pinder there was Zwede Hewitt of Baylor (Trinidad) and LaToy Williams of Texas Tech (Bahamas). The two Americans in the final were USC's Joey Hughes and Tavaris Tate of Mississippi State. Hughes finished third in the NCAA final in June while Tate and Pinder placed fifth and sixth.
Tate claimed the NACAC final in 45.36 with Hughes finishing second with a 45.79. Pinder topped the Big 12 trio with a bronze medal for the Bahamas in a time of 45.90. Hewitt placed fourth in 46.13 while Williams ran 46.67 for sixth.
In the morning prelim races Tarmoh led qualifying for the final of the 100 with an 11.51 into a 1.1 headwind. Tarmoh finished ahead of Semoy Hackett (Trinidad) in her semi with Tricia Ann Hawthorne (Jamaica) third as they clocked 11.65 and 11.77. The first 100 semi was claimed by Henry in 11.63 amid a 1.3 headwind while Wilson was second in 11.75.
Pinder finished second in the 400 semifinal with a 46.70 behind a 45.98 from Tate. The other heat was claimed by Hughes in 45.93 with Hewitt second in 46.23. Williams joined countryman Pinder in the final with a 46.55 for third in the first semifinal heat.
Porscha Lucas WINS FIRST PRO RACE IN BARCELONA
Porcha Lucas claimed her first professional victory over 100 meters with an 11.42 clocking Friday in Barcelona, Spain, competing in the same stadium that hosted the 1992 Olympics and will play host to the European Championships later this month.
Lucas defeated fellow American Tianna Madison, who ran 11.51, in the final as the field faced a slight headwind of 0.8. Shaniqua Ferguson of the Bahamas placed third with an 11.59. Madison placed third in the 100 at the U.S. Championships a couple of weeks ago while Lucas contested the 200 during the USATF meet and placed third.
A two-time NCAA Outdoor 200 champion, Lucas won her 100-meter semifinal heat in 11.50 over the 11.61 for NCAA Indoor 200 champion Ferguson, who competes for Auburn collegiately. In the NCAA 100 final in Eugene, Lucas claimed a silver medal with a wind-aided time of 11.12 while Ferguson finished sixth in 11.32.
