Big PB for Nattaliah Whyte
SPRINTER NATALLIAH Whyte raised her stocks with a big 200m personal best on Saturday. Whyte, the 2014 Youth Olympic champion, did successful double duty at the War Eagle meet on the campus of Auburn University, while there were key wins by fellow Jamaicans Akeem Bloomfield and Raheem Chambers. Elsewhere on the US circuit, there were wins for triple jumper Jehvania Whyte, Odaine Lewis, Nyoka Clunis, Tarasue Barnett and Shawn Rowe.
Warmed up from a 4x100m relay victory she shared with Auburn teammates Renee Shaw, Jonielle Smith and American Dominique Bullock, Whyte clocked 22.55 seconds to win the 200m. That overtook her old personal best of 22.77 and placed her third on the US collegiate performance list. It follows her good form during the indoor season, which peaked with her third-place finish over 60m at the NCAA Indoor Championships last month.
CLOSE WIN
Bloomfield beat teammate Nathon Allen over 400m, clocking 45.68 seconds to the national champion’s 45.92. Chambers salvaged a close win in the 100m. He and Brazilian Paulo Camilo both were timed in 10.40 seconds, but Chambers was a smidge ahead.
The best mark of the meet came from 2007 World high jump champion Donald Thomas. The Bahamian cleared 2.31m.
Long jumper Lewis, now at Texas Tech University, and triple jumper Whyte, who studies at Northern Illinois University, were the Jamaican winners at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, Texas, the home of Baylor University. Lewis, the former Cornwall College star, jumped 7.68m and Whyte took the triple with a windassisted distance of 13.42m in the last round. Whyte, a versatile jumper during her days at Vere Technical High, also had a wind legal mark of 13.35m.