Merritt anchors 1,600 relay team to win at Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA

Many of the nation's best track and field athletes converged this weekend on the University of Pennsylvania for the Penn Relays.

For Portsmouth native LaShawn Merritt, the meet was a chance to show off the form that helped him win two gold medals at the Beijing Olympics.

Merritt - along with teammates Kerron Clement, Angelo Taylor and David Neville - helped the USA Red team run 2 minutes, 59.78 seconds to win the 1,600-meter relay.

"We didn't have anything to lose, but we don't like losing," he said. "We just wanted to come out and win, and that's what we did."

Merritt, who ran anchor, had the third best leg of the day when he ran his 400-meter split in 44.26. Only the Bahamas' Nathaniel McKinney (44.24) and USA's Darold Williamson (44.25) ran faster.

Merritt said he got an extra boost to run after watching the United States run to victory in the 400 relay.

"I felt good coming out and I had a strong team," he said. "Angelo ran with me at the Olympic Games, so I knew what he was going to do. So did Neville. And Kerron is always going to show up and show out."

Merritt was tested slightly by Bahamas anchor Christopher Brown, a former All-American at Norfolk State.

"I got the stick and I knew Chris was right behind me, so I played it smart and pretty much made him run out of gas," Merritt said. "I ran it smart and I actually wanted to see how hard I could kick coming on the homestretch.

"I knew he was coming, but he had been chasing me the whole race. I pretty much made him run like I wanted him to."

Merritt wasn't the only local professional runner. Former Booker T. Washington standout Rachelle Smith showed she still has the form to compete 12 months after having her second child, helping a sprint medley relay team to a third-place finish and a 400 relay team to a fourth-place showing. Smith started training and began competing in December during the indoor season.

Smith said she was excited about competing at the Penn Relays, especially after missing the Olympics.

"This is close to the Olympics for me anyway because of the people and all the hype about Penn Relays," Smith said. "I'm very excited just to be asked to come here and race after not having run last year.

"I'm definitely where I want to be right now and a little bit better. "

Smith, who won the silver medal in the 200 meters at the 2005 World Championships, hopes to represent the United States at the IAAF World Championships in Berlin this summer.