Wilton High School junior Kafesha Thomas finished fourth in the 200-meter finals Saturday at the Colgate Women's Games at Madison Square Garden. Thomas ran 26.73 and finished second in her heat to Jalilisa Marcus from Bishop Laughlin High School of Brooklyn, N.Y. Marcus nipped Thomas by 0.05 seconds.
Thomas, running for the Connecticut Elite team, competed over a six-week period beginning in December. She accumulated enough points to place fifth overall in the series and only two points out of fourth. This is the second consecutive Top 5 finish for Kafesha at the games; she finished fourth in the 55M last year.
Thomas' heat in the 200M was the closest competition of the meet and had the MSG fans on their feet as the two athletes came down the stretch to the finish line. "She knew it would take a near-perfect performance to score high, and Kafesha went out and did it right,'' Connecticut Elite coach Kevin Foley said. "She was a bit disappointed that she was nipped at the line, but that's Kafesha, always looking to be just a little bit better."
Thomas is ranked No. 1 in the state for the 200, according to statistics compiled by Dye Stat, a national website that monitors high school track and field performances.
Kafesha has a busy few weeks ahead. She has already qualified for 60M at the New Balance Indoor Nationals to be held at the Armory in New York in March. In addition, she will defend her 55 and 200M crown at the Long Island Indoor Championships on Sunday and will look to qualify, along with several of her teammates, for the USATF Indoor Nationals at the Eastern Zone Championships in Toms River, N.J., on Feb. 27.
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