July 10, 2006
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -
Dominic Berger of the University of Maryland won his first international title over the weekend by finishing first in the men's 110-meter hurdles at the North American, Central American and Caribbean (NACAC) under-23 championships.
Berger, a rising junior at Maryland, ran 13.78 seconds in the final to beat Jason Richardson of the U.S., who ran 13.87, and Adalberto Amador of Puerto Rico, who was third in 14.37. Berger ran 13.61 in the preliminary round to establish a new meet record, surpassing the 13.78 set at the 2004 meet.
Kierra Foster, who recently graduated from Maryland, also represented the U.S. in the meet, placing second in the women's long jump. She had a best mark of 21 feet, 3.25 inches on her final attempt, moving up one place into second. Yudelkis Fernandez Luis of Cuba won the event with a jump of 21-8. The top four finishers broke the previous meet record of 20-7.25.
USA Track and Field selected two top collegians in each event to represent the U.S. at the meet, which drew more than 500 athletes from 28 countries.
