Betters Wins Gold at NACAC Championships
7/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
July 21, 2008
TOLUCA, Mexico - LeJerald Betters won a gold medal at the North America Central America and Carribean Under-23 Championships this weekend. Betters, a four-time national champion for Baylor, clocked a personal best time of 44.75 to win.
The NACAC Athletic Association's U23 Championships are held every two years in one of the 32 member nations of the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association, one of six regional athletics associations affiliated with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Betters time of 44.75 ties for the eighth-best time in Baylor history, and is just one-hundredth of a second off the sixth-fastest mark all-time. It marks the second time this season Betters has run a 44-second 400 meters. At the NCAA Championships, he clocked 44.83 to finish third in the 400 meter finals.
In other action at the NACAC Championships, Lauren Hagans placed second in the women's 1,500 meters with a time of 4:36.50. Also, Trey Harts took fourth in the men's 200 meters with a final time of 21.39.
In the men's 4x400-meter relay, the USA was battling for first place during the second leg, but Georgia's Justin Gaymon dropped the baton at the 250-meter mark. After picking up the stick and finishing his leg, the Americans were nearly 100 meters behind the rest of the field. Displaying national pride, Betters split 44.7 seconds and Quentin Iglehart-Summers split 44.9 seconds over the final two legs, though the USA finished 13 seconds behind the field at 3:18.56.
Players Mentioned
