Morgan and Eutsey bring home the hardware at World Youth Champs
07-10-2009

Contact:
Vicky Oddi
Communications Coordinator
USA Track & Field
317-713-4670

BRESSANONE, Italy - Led by Dale Morgan and Ebony Eutsey, Team USA brought home four more medals and Trevor Barron turned in an American Junior record performance Friday night at the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships in Bressanone, Italy.

In the men's 110-meter hurdles final, Dale "DJ" Morgan (Pacoima, Calif.) ran a clean race without hitting a single hurdle. That, and the second-best start in the field, helped Morgan power down the straight and surge over the final four hurdles as he pulled away for the win in a world youth leading and personal best 13.28 seconds. In the semi-final round, Morgan won heat 2 in 13.55. It was the second-fastest time of the round and a personal best for him. Kendall Hayes (Lancaster, Texas) was fifth in heat 3 in 13.76.

Ebony Eutsey (Miami, Fla.) led from wire-to-wire in the girls 400m final, making up the stagger in the first 150m and powering to the finish in 52.88 to win the gold medal. Countrywoman Michelle Brown (Shamong, N.J.) was second across the line in 53.44 to win the silver.

With his typical fast start out of the blocks, Josh Mance (Pomona, Calif.) had the early lead in the boys 400m final. According to him, it was on the backstretch where he lost the race and Grenada's Kirani James gained control. James crossed the line victorious in a blistering championship record 45.24. Mance was the runner-up in a personal best 46.22 to claim silver.

In the boys 10,000m race walk, Trevor Barron (Bethel Park, Pa.) walked his own race, starting out in a pace that he knew he could handle and reeling in his competitors one-by-one. In 20th place after the first lap, Barron slowly picked off the other racers to eventually finish fourth in an American Junior record 42:22.79. The previous record of 42:50.20 was set by Ben Shorey in 2002.Baron's performancewas the best finish by an American race walker at the World Championships level since Curt Clausen's bronze medal in the 50 km race walk at the 1999 World Championships.

Running the race of her life thus far, Eleanor Fulton (Lone Tree, Colo.) set her second personal best of the competition by placing sixth in the girls 2,000m steeplechase in 6:37.61. McKinzie Shulz finished 12th in 7:08.04.

In field event finals, Shanay Briscoe (Houston, Texas) took eighth place in the girls high jump with a clearance of 1.79 meters/5 feet 10.5 inches and Tara Richmond (Long Beach, Calif.) was tied for 11th at 1.75m/5-8.75. Ciarra Brewer (Union City, Calif.) placed seventh in the girls triple jump with a best mark of 12.97m/42-6.75 and Alec Faldermeyer was sixth in the boys hammer throw with 69.73m/228-9.

In the girls discus qualifying, Alex Collatz (Bakersfield, Calif.) had the farthest throw of the day with a toss of 49.93m/163-9, which automatically qualified her for the final. Erica Brand (Shawnee, Ks.) was sixth in group A with 44.10m/144-8. In the boys pole vault, Max Babits (Howell, Mich.) was 10th in group B with a clearance 4.50m/14-9.

In the girls 800m semi-final, Claudia Francis (Laurelton, N.Y.) was fourth in heat 2 in 2:09.42 and Marielle Hall (Mount Laurel, N.J.) was fifth in heat three in 2:08.94.

Team USA medal table as of July 10:

Gold (3)

Prezel Hardy (Killeen, Texas) boys 100m, 10.57

Ebony Eutsey (Miami, Fla.) girls 400m, 52.88

Dale Morgan (Van Nuyes, Caif.) boys 110m hurdles, 13.28

Silver (4)

Kori Carter (Claremont, Calif.) girls 100m hurdles, 13.26

Ryan Crouser (Damascus, Ore.) boys discus throw, 61.64m/202-2

Josh Mance (Pomona, Calif.) boys 400m, 46.22

Michelle Brown (Shamong, N.J.) girls 400m, 53.44

Bronze (2)

Ashton Purvis (Oakland, Calif.) girls 100m, 11.48

Bridgette Owens (Oak Park, Mich.)

For more information on Team USA and the 2009 IAAF World Youth Championships, visit www.usatf.org. For complete results, visit www.iaaf.org.

ATHLETE QUOTES

Josh Mance - boys 400m silver medalist

"I did good, second place at this level is great. But I feel I could have run better today. I'm not satisfied with my time. I wanted to go 45 today. I lost this race on the backstretch, I didn't hit it fast enough back there. I just need to keep training. My speed is there but the endurance isn't. I'm running in the Junior Olympics in a few weeks and I hope to PR there."

Ebony Eutsey - girls 400m gold medalist

"I worked to get out really fast. I knew Michelle (Brown) was my main competition. It feels great to win the gold medal. I didn't think I could come to another country and win a medal like this. This means a lot to me. It takes me to the next level. I want to compete in the next Olympics. Its athletes like Allyson Felix and Sanya Richards that I look up to.

Michelle Brown - girls 400m silver medalist

"I really wanted Ebony and I to go one, two. Yeah, I would have liked to be the one but I am happy for Ebony. My plan was to get out fast because it would be my only chance with Ebony. She goes out so fast. This is a great way to end my year."

Dale "DJ" Morgan - boys 110m hurdle gold medalist

"I got out strong and fast, bringing my knees up so I wouldn't hit the hurdles like I've been doing. I'm happy with the win. It feels good. The only gold medal I'm missing now is from the Olympic Games. I've won the Junior Olympics, the Nationals and now Worlds. It feels great to add this to my trophy case. This means I'm the fastest in the world at my age in the 110m hurdles."

Trevor Barron - boys 10,000m race walk 4th-place finisher

"I started where I knew I could hold. I expected the field to go out fast and that is what they did. But they came back to me. I kept an eye on third place and caught him but a couple km later it hit me and I dropped back. I'm a little disappointed with my performance but this is the best performance by an American since Curt (Clausen) in 1999.

My sister got involved in the Junior Olympic program and I followed her, trying different events until I found the race walk.

I qualified for the Pan Am Junior Championships but I still haven't decided if I am going."

Eleanor Fulton - girls 2,000m steeplechase 6th-place finisher

"It was tough from the start. I knew the first lap would be fast and I had to get out. I hit one of the barriers and banged my knee, that's never happened to me before and I shook me up a little. It was really fun out there today, but also really tough.

This has been such a great experience. I was so excited just to make the team so to make the final has made it that much better."

Kendall Hayes - boys 110m hurdle semi-final

"I got a bad start, popped straight out of the blocks. And I hit too many hurdles.

It has been a fun trip. It was a new experience for me. This is the first time I've been to Europe."