Grant, Senior named athletes of the week in US

JAMAICANS Kiara Grant of Norfolk State University and Brithon Senior of University of South Dakota were named the Mid-eastern Athletics Conference (MEAC) female track athlete of the week and Summitt League Conference men’s track athlete of the week, respectively, after outstanding performances on the weekend.

Both lead their conferences in their respective events — Grant in the women’s 60m dash and Senior in the men’s 60m hurdles.

Grant, the former Alpha Academy Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (Issa)/gracekennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championship winner, who alternated breaking the national junior 100m record with Briana Williams two years ago, equalled her personal best and Norfolk State University record 7.20 seconds to win the 60m at the Virginia Beach Invitational last Monday, setting a new facility record in the process.

The time also saw her race up the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 ranking to fourth, just behind another Jamaican Kemba Nelson of University of Oregon, who ran 7.19 seconds to win her first college race at the Razorback Invitational at University of Arkansas on January 29.

She also ran a season’s best 23.90 seconds in the 200m at Liberty University last weekend, winning the event and moving into third place on the MEAC rankings.

Senior, the former Rusea’s High School runner, captured the 60m hurdles in a season’s best 7.84 seconds at the Dakota Quad Classic on Saturday and moved into the top 15 on the NCAA rankings.

The time also extends his conference lead to 0.21 seconds, as he remains unbeaten all season, and has run under the eight-second barrier twice so far, the only student athlete in the Summit League to dip under eight seconds in the event this year.