University of Albany's Jones Places Fifth At USA Junior Championship 400m Finals

DES MOINES – University at Albany freshman Taariq Jones placed fifth in the 400m dash finals Saturday afternoon at the USA Track and Field Junior National Championships.

Running in the outside lane at Drake Stadium, Jones recorded a time of 47.80, as Marcus Chambers from the Seatown Express Track Club won the event with a mark of 46.55.

With the top eight finishers in each event earning All-America honors, Jones became UAlbany’s 12th Junior All-American since 2004, joining teammate James Sommer, who earned the accolade Thursday for his seventh-place 3,000m steeplechase performance. The pair also joins Alexander Bowen, Matthew Catera, Sean Halpin, Tyler Fogarty, John Moore, Joe Greene, Alyssa Lotmore, Ryan Gaedje, Jessica Ortman, and Jenna Ortman in the Great Dane archives.

The USA Junior Championships feature athletes between 16 and 19 years of age and serve as the selection for the Pan American Junior Championships in Medellin, Colombia in August. The top two finishers with a world standard in each event are invited to compete as members of Team USA.