Alec Faldermeyer places 6th at World Youth Champs

photo courtesy Victah Sailer/PhotoRun.net

Michelle Brown, the junior from Seneca HS (Tabernacle, NJ), won the silver medal in the girls’ 400 on Friday at the World Youth championships in Sudtirol, Italy. Brown, a high school junior this spring, ran 53.44, just ahead of the bronze medalist, Sandra Wagner of Sweden, who ran 53.52.

Ebony Eutsey (Southridge, Miami) won the gold medal for the U.S., running 52.88. Afia Charles, who ran for Eleanor Roosevelt HS (Greenbelt, Md.) this season, finished 8^th in 56.09, running for her native country, Antigua.

Alec Faldermeyer of Minisink Valley, N.Y., finished 6^th in the boys’ hammer, throwing the 5k 228-9. (The weight is slightly lighter than the standard high school 12#.) The event was won by Hongqiu Chen of China, at 245-10.

In the semifinals of the girls’ 800, Claudia Francis (Cardozo, Queens - right) failed to advance to the final. Francis ran 2:09.42 for 4^th place in Semi II. She missed advancing on time by half a second. Marielle Hall, the other U.S. entrant in the event, was 5^th in her semi and also failed to advance.

The men’s 400 was won by Kirani James of Grenada, the yearly World Youth leader and this year’s Carifta Games champion, in 45.24. Dale Morgan of California won the boys’ hurdles, in 13.28.

In the girls’ triple jump, Ciarra Brewer of California finished 7^th, at 42-6 ¾, while Shanay Briscoe of Texas cleared 5-10 ½ for 8^th in the girls’ HJ.

In the girls’ discus qualifying, Alex Collatz of California was the leading qualifier, throwing 163-9.

Eleanor Fulton, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., finished 6^th in the girls’ 2,000-meter steeplechase and just missed the national high school record. Fulton ran 6:37.31, less than 2 seconds from the record. The other American entrant, McKinzie Schulz of Illinois, finished 12^th. Kenyan and Ethiopian runners took the first four places. /JP/