Nation's Largest Track & Field Series Kicks off Indoor Track Season - Fast Sprints in the High School Division Set the Pace for 2009
(Dec. 26-28) Brooklyn, NY - The Colgate Women's Games got an early start this year, as thousands of female athletes from elementary school through college and beyond, competed this weekend in the first of four preliminary meets held at Pratt Institute. This season marks the 35th anniversary of the nation's longest-running corporate-sponsored event benefiting young people.
Games' veteran Whitney Fountain of the Bronx's Pelham Prep Academy won the High School 55 Meters in 7.0 seconds and the 200 Meters in 25.6 second, two excellent early season performances. Lateisha Philson of Cardoza High School in Queens finished the 55 Meter Hurdles in 8.0 seconds and Ajee Wilson of New Jersey's Neptune High School took the 1500 Meters in 4:53.7.
In Middle School action, Akayla Anderson of I.S. 49 in Queens took the 55 Meter Hurdles in 8.7 seconds, Deajah Stevens of Mt. Vernon's Longfellow Middle School finished the 400 Meters in 61.2 seconds and Kelly Davis of Troup Magnet School won both the 800 (2:26.09) and 1500 Meters (4:47.05).
The initial gathering for this anniversary season had meet officials, coaches and athletes alike sharing memories of Games past. Sixty-year old Jennifer Pinto of Brooklyn has been participating in the Games every year for the past thirty years and now competes in the Games' 30+ Division.
"My daughter Tammy and I were the first mother and daughter to compete at the Madison Square Garden finals together. That's what I love about Colgate-it's not only about family -- but also about making new friends and seeing the same faces year after year. It feels like coming home," Pinto said.
Meet Director Fred Thompson also reminisced, "When we started the Games in 1974, we were working with so little. We didn't even have a proper track. It took much patience and perseverance, but soon the Games became an annual event that was attracting athletes from as far away as Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts."
"With the generosity of Colgate-Palmolive, the Games have taken place every single year and have remained free and open to the general public, no matter what the economic conditions of the day. We're very proud of that distinction," added Thompson, who is also the Games' founder.
The Colgate Women's Games attract more than 11,000 participants each year, traveling from as far as Virginia and Boston. Although the largest contingent come from the NY metro area, hundreds of girls and young women of all ages travel every weekend all the way from Philadelphia to compete within their own age/grade division: Elementary School A, Elementary School B, Middle School, High School, College and 30's Plus.
This weekend was the first of four weekends of preliminaries held at Pratt Institute's indoor track, leading up to a semi-finals event for top point scorers. The semi-finals determine who will compete for trophies and educational grants-in-aid from Colgate-Palmolive Company. The Colgate Women's Games finals will take place at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, on Saturday, January 31.
The Games have produced 17 former Olympians, hundreds of age/grade division national champions, and countless changed lives. Coaches, college recruiters, participants, family and friends can follow scores and results each week at www.colgategames.com.
Tickets to the Madison Square Garden finals are FREE. Visit www.colgategames.com to request up to 25 tickets. Larger groups can also be accommodated by request to the meet director also by visiting www.colgategames.com.
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