Posted: August 2, 2004

Athletics: Team USA’s relay squads shine at Sherbrooke

INDIANAPOLIS – Team USA won three out of four relay races on the final day of the 2004 North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) Track & Field Championships Sunday in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada.

More than 400 athletes from 28 countries competed at the Universite de Sherbrooke Athletics Stadium. The NACAC Athletic Association's Under-23 Championships are held every two years in one of the 32 member nations of the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association, one of six regional athletics associations affiliated with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Team USA men’s squad dominated the competition Sunday in winning the 4x100m and 4x400m relay races. Paul Felix, Wallace Spearmon, Kyle Farmer and Ernest Wiggins joined forces in the 4x100m relay to win easily in 39.03 seconds. The Barbados ‘A’ team was a distant second in 39.83. Craig Everhart, Benjamin Wiggins, LaRon Bennett and Andrew Rock had little trouble in winning the 4x400m relay in 3:02.36. The Jamaica ‘A’ team was the runner-up, well back in 3:05.79.

In women’s relay action, Dehashia Trotter, Charlette Griggs, Cassandra Reed and Monique Henderson won the 4x400m relay with little difficulty in 3:29.10. The Jamaica ‘A’ team was the runner-up, more than six seconds off the winning time. Team USA’s 4x100m relay team of Lori Jones, Virginia Powell, Hasani Roseby and Lakadron Ivery lost a heartbreaker to the Jamaica ‘A’ team. Team USA finished in 43.63, with the Jamaicans narrowly winning the race in 43.62.

In individual competition, Team USA’s men’s field event standouts continued the positive momentum from Saturday by sweeping the top two spots in two events. The University of Kentucky’s Jeff Chakouian, who placed third in the shot put at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships, won that event Sunday with a best of 18.74 meters/61 feet, 5.75 inches. Dan Taylor of Ohio State University, who was the runner-up at NCAA Outdoors, finished second after nearly equaling Chakouian’s winning throw with his toss of 18.73m/61-5.50. Taylor, who placed third in the hammer throw at this year’s NCAA Championships, placed second in the hammer Sunday with a best of 63.13m/207-1.

Americans also went 1-2 in the men’s javelin as the University of Arkansas’ Eric Brown, who placed third at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships, won with a best throw of 73.11m/239-10. The University of Connecticut’s Paul Pisano was the runner-up with a throw of 70.37m/230-10.

In other individual events, Baylor University’s Lakadron Ivery won the women’s 200 meters in 24.42 seconds, with fellow American Amandi Rhett of Georgia Tech finishing third in 24.37. Also winning for Team USA was Anne Favolise of Kenosha, Wisc., in the women’s 10 km race walk in 52 minutes, 12 seconds. Favolise faced a strong challenge from Mexico’s Daish Gonzalez-Alvarez, who finished just nine seconds back.

In the men’s 20 km race walk, Matthew Boyles was the runner-up in 1 hour, 34 minutes, 36 seconds, as Mexico’s Horacio Nava Reza won the event in 1:33:29.

Other strong performances were turned in by Dominique Darden of Coral Gables, Fla., who finished as the runner-up in the women’s 400m hurdles in 57.02 seconds, and Travis Brandstatter and James Hardee, who tied for second in the men’s high jump. Both cleared 1.96 meters/6 feet, 5 inches.

For complete results from the 2004 NACAC Championships, visit: www.nacac2004.ca.