CAPPING OFF a memorable day of sprinting by young collegiate women, the 200 finalists continued the clinic they had begun in the semis 2 days earlier, when 5 of them set PRs. LSU super-frosh Sha’Carri Richardson showed she was ready as she roared around the curve and crossed the line first in a PR 22.37 to move to =No. 3 on the all-time world Junior list. In the next heat, USC junior Angie Annelus delivered her own special message as the defending champion threw down a U.S./collegiate-leading 22.35 PR of her own.
After the early-round fireworks, everyone knew the final would be scintillating. Fueled with the excitement generated by the jaw-dropping 10.75 posted by Richardson to claim the 100 crown some 45 minutes earlier, the crowd’s anticipation was palpable. At the crack of the gun, the sprinters tore around the curve with Annelus (lane 5) and Richardson (6) separating themselves from the field as they entered the straightaway. A tense homestretch battle ensued. In the final meters, Richardson pressed for the lead, but her rival continued to fight on with the Trojan’s perfectly-timed lean making the difference. Her PR 22.16 made her the No. 4 collegian ever and claimed the yearly world lead.
Richardson’s PR 22.17, the fastest non-winning mark in meet history, claimed the World Junior Record, bettering the nearly 15-year-old 22.18 set by Allyson Felix in winning the silver medal at the ’04 Athens Olympics. The 22.17 will not be, however, an American Junior Record, as USATF ratified Felix’s altitude-aided 22.11 the year before, but the IAAF didn’t accept it as the WJR. Of breaking a Felix record, Richardson said, “That was amazing. I did not think I was going to do that.”
Annelus offered a poised summary of her performance, saying, “I just prayed to God before the race to just have a smooth race, and whatever the results are, I’m going to be happy with them. I’m just overjoyed right now. I was giving it my all. I’m so happy I was able to get a PR and come out here and defend the title.” In response to an inquiry about the blanket finish, Annelus, who had finished 7th in the 100, said “It was a tossup. I know we were both leaning at the line, so I was just happy to see my name pop up first.”
NCAA WOMEN’S 200 RESULTS
FINAL
(June 08; wind +1.3)
1. *Angie Annelus (USC) 22.16 PR (WL, AL, CL) (4, 4 C; 3, 3 NCAA);
2. ***Sha’Carri Richardson (LSU) 22.17 WJR, low-altitude AJR (old records 20.18 Allyson Felix [adidas] ’04) (inferior to AJR/unratified WJR 22.11[A] Felix [CaHS] ’03); (2, 2 WJ; 5, 5 C; 4, 4 NCAA);
3. ***Cambrea Sturgis (NCAT) 22.40 PR (22.394);
4. **Janeek Brown’ (Ar) 22.40 PR (22.396);
5. Teahna Daniels (Tx) 22.62;
6. ***Lanae-Tava Thomas (USC) 22.74 PR;
7. Kayla White (NCAT) 22.81;
… dnc—**Ka’Tia Seymour (FlSt).
(best-ever mark-for-NCAA-place: 2)
SEMIS
(June 06)
I(-0.1)–1. Sturgis 22.51 PR; 2. White 22.65; 3. ***Jayda Eckford (Ms) 23.00 PR; 4. **Anavia Battle (OhSt) 23.01; 5. *Mauricia Prieto’ (Al) 23.10; 6. Bri’Anna Branch (SnIl) 23.14; 7. **Daija Lampkin (Al) 23.26; 8. ***Caisja Chandler (Cinc) 23.41.
II(1.3)–1. Richardson 22.37 PR (=3, =8 WJ; 2, 5 AJ);
2. Brown’ 22.51; 3. **Tamara Clark (Al) 22.80; 4. ***Abby Steiner (Ky) 23.00; 5. Caitland Smith (ArSt) 23.20; 6. **Dai’Lyn Merriweather (Ok) 23.35; 7. **Shilah Bedingfield (SacSt) 23.75;… fs—Payton Chadwick (Ar).
III(1.3)–1. Annelus 22.35 PR (AL, CL);
2. Seymour 22.55 PR; 3. Thomas 22.65 PR; 4. Daniels 22.65; 5. ***Kynnedy Flannel (Tx) 23.00; 6. **Twanisha Terry (USC) 23.15; 7. *Zion Corrales-Nelson (Cal) 23.24; 8. ***Kamaya Debose-Epps (NCAT) 23.29.◻︎
