DES MOINES, Iowa – Donavan Brazier sprinted away from the 800m field over the last quarter of the race to produce a winning time of 1:45.62 at the USA Track & Field Championships held at Drake Stadium on Sunday.
Â
Other Aggie alums competing on the final day of the meet included Ameer Webb, third in the 200m; Shamier Little, fourth in the 400m hurdles; Annie Kunz, fourth in the heptathlon; and Sammy Watson, sixth in the women's 800m.
                                                                                                                  Â
After Brazier covered the first lap of the 800m in 55.00 seconds, stationed in third place, he split 50.62 on the second circuit to separate from the field. Runner-up in the race was Clayton Murphy with a 1:46.01 while Bryce Hoppel grabbed third place in 1:46.31 over Isaiah Harris (1:46.49).
Â
"I had a good week leading up to the final," Brazier said. "In the prelim and semi each race was slow and I had to kick fast. I expected the same in the final. My plan was to sit and sit and then pass on the backstretch. Then I was prepared to match anyone that tried to pass me.
Â
"Nobody really challenged me in the last 200m, so I was able to bring it home nice and smooth. In the final 100m I was relaxed and composed. When I crossed the finish line I was excited. I had a lot of family and friends from Michigan out here this weekend. I really wanted to make it worth their trip."
Â
Webb, racing in lane 8, earned third place in the 200m with a time of 20.45 to finish ahead of Jamiel Trimble (20.46) and Kyree King (20.49). Noah Lyles won the race in 19.78 with Christian Coleman runner-up at 20.02.
Â
Little ran 53.91 in the 400m hurdles after a strong first half of the race. Dalilah Muhammad claimed the victory in 52.20 to break the world record of 52.34 set in 2003 by Russian Yulia Pechonkina. Runner-up in 52.88 was Sydney McLaughlin while Ashley Spencer secured third place at 53.11 after passing Little off the final hurdle.
Â
Kunz finished fourth in the heptathlon with a career best score of 6,153 points. Her previous best was 6,098 from earlier this season. Erica Bougard won the U.S. title with a score of 6,663 points while Kendall Williams finished second at 6,610. Claiming the third position with 6,230 points was Chari Hawkins.
Â
Kunz moved into third place following the long jump as she produced a windy best of 20-9 ¾ (6.34) for 956 points. A javelin toss of 128-9 (39.24) added 653 points to her tally, but she slipped back into fourth place. Wrapping up with a 2:20.40 in the 800m, Kunz earned 818 points to complete her score.
Â
Watson ran 2:01.70 for sixth in the 800m final as the top three positions went to Ajee Wilson (1:57.72), Hanna Green (1:58.19) and Raevyn Rogers (1:58.84). A mark of 24-11 (7.59) placed Will Williams 17th in the long jump.
Â
Other Aggie alums competing on the final day of the meet included Ameer Webb, third in the 200m; Shamier Little, fourth in the 400m hurdles; Annie Kunz, fourth in the heptathlon; and Sammy Watson, sixth in the women's 800m.
                                                                                                                  Â
After Brazier covered the first lap of the 800m in 55.00 seconds, stationed in third place, he split 50.62 on the second circuit to separate from the field. Runner-up in the race was Clayton Murphy with a 1:46.01 while Bryce Hoppel grabbed third place in 1:46.31 over Isaiah Harris (1:46.49).
Â
"I had a good week leading up to the final," Brazier said. "In the prelim and semi each race was slow and I had to kick fast. I expected the same in the final. My plan was to sit and sit and then pass on the backstretch. Then I was prepared to match anyone that tried to pass me.
Â
"Nobody really challenged me in the last 200m, so I was able to bring it home nice and smooth. In the final 100m I was relaxed and composed. When I crossed the finish line I was excited. I had a lot of family and friends from Michigan out here this weekend. I really wanted to make it worth their trip."
Â
Webb, racing in lane 8, earned third place in the 200m with a time of 20.45 to finish ahead of Jamiel Trimble (20.46) and Kyree King (20.49). Noah Lyles won the race in 19.78 with Christian Coleman runner-up at 20.02.
Â
Little ran 53.91 in the 400m hurdles after a strong first half of the race. Dalilah Muhammad claimed the victory in 52.20 to break the world record of 52.34 set in 2003 by Russian Yulia Pechonkina. Runner-up in 52.88 was Sydney McLaughlin while Ashley Spencer secured third place at 53.11 after passing Little off the final hurdle.
Â
Kunz finished fourth in the heptathlon with a career best score of 6,153 points. Her previous best was 6,098 from earlier this season. Erica Bougard won the U.S. title with a score of 6,663 points while Kendall Williams finished second at 6,610. Claiming the third position with 6,230 points was Chari Hawkins.
Â
Kunz moved into third place following the long jump as she produced a windy best of 20-9 ¾ (6.34) for 956 points. A javelin toss of 128-9 (39.24) added 653 points to her tally, but she slipped back into fourth place. Wrapping up with a 2:20.40 in the 800m, Kunz earned 818 points to complete her score.
Â
Watson ran 2:01.70 for sixth in the 800m final as the top three positions went to Ajee Wilson (1:57.72), Hanna Green (1:58.19) and Raevyn Rogers (1:58.84). A mark of 24-11 (7.59) placed Will Williams 17th in the long jump.