While overseas-based Guyanese boxers except Wayne `Big Truck Braithwaite' let their guards down in recent bouts in the US, their track and field compatriots admirably rose to keep the golden arrowhead fluttering on North American soil.
In a manner similar to the occurrences of April of last year, national middle distance champion Marian Burnett 'evened out' the failure of, especially, former world title-holder Andrew 'Six Head' Lewis with another historic victory two days after the pugilist was vanquished in a title bid. Burnett's performance for her college Louisiana State University (LSU) was well supported by fast rising junior athlete Jeavon Benjamin who "strode to glory when it mattered."
Running in her first competitive 800m event since last July's Commonwealth Games, Burnett set the University of Florida indoor track abuzz to record an American season best with a blistering run at the Gator Invitational in mildly-warm Gainesville, Florida. Media personnel at LSU state that the defending national collegiate indoor champion officially signaled her intent to defend her title while posting an impressive NCAA automatic mark of 2:04.97. Burnett's time is reported to be the overall fastest women's indoor performance at 800m in the U.S.A., so far this season. The Guyanese, who ran unbeaten at the collegiate level last year, defeated a solid field of top collegians and elite athletes that included Team Adidas' Maskerem Legesse of Ethiopia and 2002 NCAA silver medallist Kristina Bratton of Florida.
Burnett's run is listed by LSU's distance coach Mark Elliott as being "awesome, awesome ... a truly historic performance considering this is her first competition at her pet distance in almost seven months." The half-miler is being gradually "eased back into championship shape" following a performance-limiting injury that developed at the end of the x-country season last November.
The Guyanese police officer highlighted a stellar day of competition for the LSU high-ranking men's and women's squads, in which five automatic marks and almost double that number in provisional qualifying times were registered.
"Anytime you can have these marks, you have to be happy with the day's performance," said LSU head coach Pat Henry, the most successful NCAA women's track and field coach ever.
"We did some good things here today and came out of the meet very healthy. I feel we are where we need to be at this point in the season, and I think we have put ourselves in a good position heading into the Armory Invitational (in New York, February 14-15)."
Burnett is expected to defend two track records she set at the prestigious meet last February.
Later in the meet, Burnett came back to pull the LSU Lady Tigers 4x400m relay team to a second place finish behind a hot Miami squad. They recorded a NCAA indoor provisional qualifying time of 3:37.13, which is a mere 13/100th of a second outside of the automatic time.
Almost 1,100 miles away in snow-covered New York City, young track phenom, Jeavon Benjamin rolled back her `dark-horse' tag with two impressive showings to lead her school, Far Rockaway High to the women's team crown at the NYC Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL)) Queens Borough Indoor Championships. It was all about Benjamin as she 'stashed the tracks' at Madison Square Garden to emphatically win the 300m in 39.74s and the 600m in 1:32.33 (personal best). The times are automatic qualifications for the national high schools championships by more than five seconds and 213 seconds, respectively.
Benjamin's performance was even more outstanding considering her ability to be the only athlete under 40 seconds in the 300m, while she beat the second placed opponent in the 600m by more than 13 seconds. Her Lady Seahorses squad finished on 156 points, way ahead of Townsend Harris on 93 poits, Benjamin Cardoso on 78 points, Jamaica on 48 poits and Campus Magnet with 36 points rounding off the top of the 14-team points table.
The sophomore who is No. 3 at both 500m (1:16.19) and 600m on the national high school ranking, made amends for her below-par fourth position in the 400m (58.64s) at the Colgate Women's Games day earlier at the same venue.
Benjamin's development as a top class 1/4-miler has been absorbing the attention of Guyanese track and field executive Clifford Wong in Washington who had earlier in the year indicated that she is one of "other athletes you keep an eye out for." Wong had offered his congratulations to Benjamin for her breaking into the national high schools' rankings, stating that she undoubtedly has the potential to continue the excellent 400m to distance tradition of Guyana.