Source: www.guardian.co.tt
Semoy Hackett is among five T&T athletes who are expected to represent their universities at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Division One Indoor track and field championships at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium, Texas, today and tomorrow. Hackett will contest the women’s 60 and 200m sprints and is joined by her Louisiana State University school-mate Kyron Blaise who will battle in the men’s long jump and triple jump. Afiya Walker (women’s 400m), Zwede Hewitt and Jovon Toppin (men’s 4x400) are the other local athletes competing.
Hackett would be seeking to match compatriot and former LSU student Kelly Ann Baptiste who took the 60m title in 2008. Hackett is the fifth fastest in the field with 7.24 seconds. She will be seeking to improve on her double silver success at the South Eastern Conference finals on February 22 when she was second in the 60m (7.25) and in the 200m (22.84). Walker will be the first local athlete in action in the women’s 400m preliminaries today with the final set for tomorrow.
Later, Hackett will take the field in the prelims of the women’s 60m with the final tomorrow. She will be back on the track for the 200m preliminaries today. Blaise will bid for a medal in the men’s long jump. The 2008 double Carifta champion has the 15th best jump (7.78) of the 16 entrants and will have to get through the qualifying round which takes place before the finals. He will be the first athlete in action tomorrow in the men’s triple jump where he is sixth ranked with 16.36m. In the men’s 4x400m finals Hewitt and his Baylor team-mates will line up while Jovon Toppin will be part of Florida’s team in the third and final heat.