Despite the 400m being his pet event, Leford Green has imposed himself in the 400 hurdles with a personal best 50.47 seconds last weekend at the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina.

A junior at Johnson C Smith University, the 23-year-old Green demolished the field at the Relays as he was the only one-lap hurdler dipping under 51 seconds. American Elon Simms, a senior at Ohio State, finished second in 51.74 seconds.

A Greater Portmore High and Kingston College past student, Green improved on his previous best 50.51 seconds set two years ago at Chapel Hill, also in North Carolina.

Johnson C Smith’s head coach, Jamaica’s Lennox Graham, said in a recent interview that “we are putting a little more work in the 400m hurdles than we have done over the last three years”.

Jamaica’s male athletes have been among the best hurdlers in the world since 1991 when Winthrop Graham took the silver at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

Green was silver medallist in the 400m hurdles at Champs 2006, trailing Josef Robertson who won in a national junior record 50.25 seconds, with the KC captain timing 50.81 seconds.

Meanwhile Samantha Henry, a senior at Louisiana State University (LSU), posted a wind-aided (+4.2m/s) 11.14 seconds to win the 100 metres in the college/open section of the LSU Relays in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Twenty-one-year-old Henry, a past student of The Queens, out-sprinted LSU teammates and Americans Kenyanna Wilson (11.25sec) and Takeia Pinckney (11.30sec).

St Jago High standout Riker Hylton has officially signed up with LSU “to build momentum for the 2010 season”. Another St Jago High past student Jonique Day will also represent LSU. Hylton and Day both attended Essex County College in New Jersey.