(BLACK PR WIRE) (January 11, 2010) BROOKLYN, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Friday evenings highlights included Pelham Preparatory High Schools Whitney Fountain nearly breaking the 200 Meters record, finishing in 24.3 seconds. Fountain also won the 55 Meters in 6.9 seconds, matching her best performance of the season.

The high jump featured Valley Stream Central junior Joanne Imbert, a novice at the sport, upsetting long time Games favorite Phyllis Francis by clearing 5' 7.
Bloomfield, New Jerseys Natalie McAlister won the 55 Meters Hurdles race in 8.4 seconds, and Michelle Davis of Philadelphia’s West Catholic High School took the 400 Meters in 59.3 seconds.

Every weekend in January, thousands of athletes travel great distances to compete at Pratt. The Chimeras, a 25-member team from Willingboro, New Jersey, drives two hours each way to be part of the Colgate Women’s Games.

I have a young team of mostly freshmen and sophomores, said Chimeras coach Tosca Bynoe. I bring them here because Colgate is a great series for physical and mental development. Here, they learn to run aggressively and how to get ahead, both in sport and in life.

Colgate Women’s Games founder and meet director Fred Thompson is not surprised about the team’s dedication.
These kids are just looking for opportunity. They want to make something better of themselves, said Thompson. There are so many media stories about childhood obesity and teenage pregnancy. Programs like ours do so much to counter those problems, and ours is completely free. It’s no wonder we have coaches and teachers bringing kids from as far as Virginia and Boston to participate.

Four preliminary meets are held at Pratt Institutes indoor track, leading up to a semi-finals for top point scorers. The semi-finals determine who will compete for trophies and educational grants-in-aid from the Colgate-Palmolive Company at the Colgate Women’s Games finals, taking place at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, January 30th.

The Colgate Women's Games attract more than 11,000 participants each year who compete within their own age/grade divisions: Elementary A, Elementary B, Middle School, High School, College/Open and 30's Plus. The Games have produced 22 former Olympians and hundreds of age/grade division national champions. Coaches, college recruiters, participants, family and friends can follow scores and results each week at colgategames.com.
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