BARBADOS’ Olympian Tia-Adana Belle grabbed the gold medal for St Augustine’s University in the women’s 400-metre hurdles championship division on Thursday’s opening day of the Penn Relays at Franklin Field in Raleigh, Philadelphia.
Her winning season-best time of 56.26 seconds in the first race of the day is the fifth-fastest time in NCAA Division II history and the 15th fastest in the world this year.
Belle finished well ahead of the field as Sashel Brown of Auburn University (57.47) placed second. Tyler Brockington of the University of South Carolina (57.54) was third.
The standout hurdler also helped the Lady Falcons qualify in the women’s 4×100-metre and 4×400-metre relay heats. The 4×100 team, which includes another Barbadian in Leah Barker advanced to Friday’s collegiate final with a time of 45.96.
Barker is also a member of the 4×400 quartet, which reached Saturday’s collegiate final with a time of 3:44.47.
The Penn Relays continues Friday. (EZS)
