Kerley Earns Gold, Silver at Pan Am Juniors
7/31/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Final 400m Results
Final 4x400m Results
EDMONTON, Alberta - The future is bright for Stephen F. Austin sprinter My'Lik Kerley. On Friday evening, the freshman won the silver medal for the USA in the 400-meter run at the 2015 Pan American Junior Games in Edmonton, Alberta, establishing himself as one of the fastest runners in North and South America.
And he's only 19 years old.
The Taylor, Texas native used a personal best time of 46.33 seconds to claim his first international medal of any kind in his first meet wearing the red, white and blue. It was a tight pack for the first 300 meters of the finals, but Kerley showcased his stamina down the stretch, pulling away along with gold medalist Jamal Walton (Cayman Islands). Only .22 seconds separated Kerley and Walton.
In the prelims earlier on Friday afternoon, Kerley notched the third fastest time in the field of 17, crossing in 47.55 seconds to earn an automatic spot in the finals.
His finals time of 46.33 seconds would have been good enough to place sixth in the 400m final at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
On Sunday evening, Kerley capped his successful trip to Canada by anchoring the USA 4x400m relay to the gold medal with a winning time of 3:07.07. The stars and stripes squad edged Jamaica in the final track event of the Games.
Kerley will now get some time off before returning to training for the 2016 collegiate season. He will be one of the key figures of a strong Lumberjack core of sprinters.
-SFA-
