Pratt Institute - High School Junior Dalilah Muhammed wowed the crowd during the second preliminary meet of the nation's largest track series on Friday with a performance in the 200 meters on par with Olympic sprinters.
The 16-year-old from Queens opened the season last week with an impressive 25.4 and shattered that mark this week by crossing the tape in 24.6, a time that Meet Director Fred Thompson calls world-class.
Thompson said, "Dalilah is flirting with times we haven't seen since Diane Dixon, and she's doing it on a flat floor without spikes. It's truly remarkable.
Also in the High School Division, Games veterans Whitney Fountain of Pelham Prep in the Bronx and Phyllis Francis of Catherine McAuley in Brooklyn remained on top. Fountain ran 6.9 in week one, and 7.0 on Friday for first place wins, and Francis improved her last week's 2:18.2 in the 800 meters with an impressive 2:15.4 performance.
From elementary school through college and beyond, some of the nation's best female athletes along with those just participating for fun compete each week in the nation's largest amateur track series, the Colgate Women's Games.
Four preliminary events and a semi-finals are held at Pratt throughout January with top winners from each age/grade division advancing to the finals at Madison Square Garden on February 3, 2006 where they will compete for trophies and educational grants-in-aid from Colgate-Palmolive Company.
Follow scores of all top competitors and request free tickets to the Madison Square Garden finals at www.colgategames.com