U.S. sets two meet records and wins 17 medals at NACAC U-23 Championships

U.S. sets two meet records and wins 17 medals at NACAC U-23 Championships

8/8/2014

KAMLOOPS, B.C. -- Team USA set two meet records and won eight golds and 17 overall medals at Hillside Stadium on the first day of NACAC U-23 Championships, which feature three days of competition for athletes ages 20, 21 and 22 from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

The U.S. won gold in both the men’s and women’s 100 meters as University of Alabama sprinter Diondre Batson (Sacramento, California) and Texas Tech’s Cierra White (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) ran to exciting first place finishes. The women stole the show, going one and two for gold and silver as White clocked 11.32 and Indiana State’s Katie Wise (Morgantown, Indiana) finished in 11.58.

Batson powered to a strong semifinal heat win before taking gold in the final in 10.08. Teammate Antwan Wright (Riviera Beach, Florida) of the University of Florida finished third in his semifinal heat before taking fourth in the final.

Rodney Brown (Chappel Hill, Texas) of LSU set a new meet record in the men’s discuss with his toss of 63.34m/207-10, and University of Georgia multi-eventer Quintunya Chapman (Hinesville, Georgia) also set a meet record in the shot put portion of heptathlon, where she threw 13.06m/42-10.25) in her second event of the competition.

Chapman led a successful first day for U.S. heptathletes as she came away with 3,358 points after four events. Not only did she set a new meet record in the shot put, but she also earned first place in the 200m with her time of 24.50 after she tied American teammate and Penn State multi-eventer Brittany Howell (Wyncote, Pennsylvania) with a photo finish of 13.81 in the 100m hurdles. Howell scored 3,362 on the opening day of heptathlon with a shared top time in the hurdles and two second place results, clearing 1.71m/ 5-7.25 in high jump and finishing the 200m in 25.29.

Matt Hillenbrand (Louisville, Kentucky) of the University of Kentucky never wavered in his quest for 1,500m gold as he determined the pace in the first three laps before competition from Mexico and Canada made for an exciting final lap. At the bell, Hillenbrand increased his pace in advance of Mexico’s Edgar Ala Garcia Quiroz's move on the back straightaway. On the curve, Canada’s Connor Darlington overtook Garcia Quiroz in second and inched closer to challenge for first. Hillenbrand, with a pulse on his competition, kicked for one last drive to come away with gold medal in 3:54.85.

U.S. women dominated discus as Kelsey Card (Plainville, Illinois) from the University of Wisconsin won gold with her throw of 53.82m/176-7, and USC Trojan Alex Collatz (Bakersfield, California) earned silver with a toss of 53.20m/174-6.

The men’s 10,000m came down to a battle for first between Americans Chris Bendtsen (Wolcott, Connecticut) of Princeton and Chris Enriquez (Downey, California) of Long Beach State. The two paced well, trading leadership roles after each mile. With three laps to go, the challenge came down to the final straightaway, where Bendtsen earned gold in 31:43.37 with Enriquez winning silver in 31:47.77.

Below is a complete medal count for U.S. athletes competing on Day One of the NACAC U-23 Championships in Kamloops, B.C.

The competition continues Saturday at 1 p.m. PST with decathlon 100m. Click here for complete results.

Gold
Diondre Batson, 100m (10.08)
Christopher Bendtsen, 10,000m (31:43.37)
Rodney Brown, Discus (63.34m/207-9) - Meet Record
Kelsey Card, Discus (53.82m/176-7)
Braxton Drummond, Long Jump (7.64m/25'-0.75 (+1.1) )
Brooke Pleger, Hammer Throw (64.60m/211-11)
Cierra White, 100m (11.32)
Matthew Hillenbrand, 1,500m (3:54.85)

Silver
Tavis Bailey, Discus (57.37m/188-2)
Shanay Briscoe, High Jump (1.76m/5-9.25)
Alex Collatz, Discus (53.20m/174-6)
Christopher Enriquez, 10,000km (31:47.77)
Devin Field, Long Jump (7.51m/24-7.75 (1.7)
Hilary Holt, 1,500m (4:17.82)
Molly Josephs, 10,000mRW (55:48.23)
Katie Wise, 100m (11.58)

Bronze
Brittany Funk, Hammer Throw (60.99m/200-1)

Christa Mann
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USA Track & Field
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