NEWS & NOTES - MARCH 28

HALL CLAIMS AMERICAN COLLEGIATE RECORD IN HEPTATHLON
Florida’s Anna Hall celebrated her 21st birthday by scoring a world-leading 6,412 points to win the Texas Relays women’s heptathlon, the highest score ever by an American-born collegian. Hall closed out the seven-eventer with a 2:04.61 800m, the fastest time ever run in a heptathlon by an American woman.
 
Washington high schooler Amanda Moll set a world U18 best in the women’s pole vault, clearing 4.51m/14-9.5. That also bettered the existing American U20 record (pending USATF ratification) and set a national high school record.
 
In other Texas Relays action, Britton Wilson of Arkansas won the women’s 400m hurdles in a world-leading 54.37, making her the No. 10 all-time collegiate performer. The wind picked up on the final day, helping the sprinters and hurdlers to speedy times, including a 21.69w (+3.1) by Olympic bronze medalist Gabby Thomas in the women’s 200m. That time put her at =5th on the all-time all-conditions U.S. performance list. She also won the 100m in a windy 10.92w (+2.9).
 
Alia Armstrong of LSU won the women’s collegiate 100m hurdles in 12.33w (+2.5), the fastest all-conditions run ever by a collegian, and Olympic silver medalist Keni Harrison took top honors in the invitational race with a 12.32w (+3.9), the No. 8 all-time U.S. all-conditions performance. In the collegiate women’s 100m, USC’s Celera Barnes had a world-leading 11.07 in the heats and then won the final with a wind-aided 10.82w (+2.8), making her the No. 5 all-time all-conditions collegiate performer.
 
KERLEY CAPS OFF IMPRESSIVE MONTH WITH U.S.-LEADING 100M
Olympic 100m silver medalist Fred Kerley closed out an impressive month of March with a U.S.-leading 9.99 to win the men’s 100m at the Miami Hurricane Collegiate Invitational in Florida. On March 5 in Grenada, Kerley clocked a world-leading 44.47 in the 400m, and he zipped to a world-leading 20.04 in the 200m on March 19 in Arizona. A gold medalist on Team USATF’s 4x400m relay and an individual 400m bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Kerley ranks No. 4 on the all-time compilation of “combination” 100/200/400 sprinters behind Usain Bolt, Michael Johnson and Michael Norman.
 
OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALIST BAPTISTE PASSES AWAY
Kirk Baptiste, the 1984 Olympic men’s 200m silver medalist and 1987 world indoor champion in the 200m, passed away March 24 in Houston. He was 59.
 
A star for Madison High School in Houston, Baptiste took his talents to the University of Houston, where he was the NCAA bronze medalist in the 200m as a freshman in 1983. He moved up to gold in 1984 and 1985 and added a bronze in the 100m in 1984.
 
At the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials, Baptiste set a personal best of 20.05 in the 200m to take second and earn a berth on Team USATF for the Los Angeles Games. In LA, he won his heat, quarterfinal and semifinal before sprinting to silver as the U.S. swept the medals, lowering his lifetime best to 19.96. On August 18 in London, Baptiste set a world best in the 300m with a 31.70.
 
Baptiste left the University of Houston after the 1985 season and swept the TAC 100m and 200m crowns that summer. He went on to win the World Indoor Championships 200m at Indianapolis in 1987 with a 20.73.
 
Services are pending. His family shared these photographs.