Colgate Women's Games Semi-Finals Bring Out The Best
- Jared McCallister
- 10 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The finals of the Colgate Women’s Games historic 50th season will be held Feb. 7 at the Nike Track and Field Center in Manhattan.
Admission is free, and the public is invited to attend the championship event of the nation’s longest-running indoor track and field series for girls and women. Tickets for the finals can be reserved online, and the finals — along with all meets from the 50th season — will also be streamed free of charge.
With preliminary and semifinal meets completed, the top six performers in each event have advanced to the finals, where they will compete for titles and more than 100 educational scholarships. The athletes span multiple generations, including runners, hurdlers, high jumpers and shot putters, reflecting the Games’ mission of promoting education through athletics.
Founded in 1974 by legendary track coach Fred Thompson with support from Colgate-Palmolive, the Colgate Women’s Games were created to expand athletic and educational opportunities for girls and women.
In addition to competition, this year’s finals will include events commemorating the Games’ 50th anniversary. Noel Wallace, chairman, president and CEO of Colgate-Palmolive, is scheduled to address athletes and spectators. Olympic medalists Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson Wooden are expected to attend, along with CWG alumnae and elite athletes Dalilah Muhammad, Ajeé Wilson and Natasha Hastings.
The Parade of Finalists will feature more than 200 former CWG finalists who will participate in the opening ceremony, accompanied by the Marching Cobras of New York.
Historical shirts, medals, tickets, photographs and other memorabilia will be displayed in the Armory’s first-floor theater room, which will also host meet-and-greet sessions with featured athletes. Colgate’s Bright Smiles, Bright Futures mobile dental van will be stationed outside the Fort Washington Avenue entrance, offering free dental screenings for children up to age 12, along with educational materials and dental care products.
Scholarship awards will be determined by cumulative point totals earned throughout the series. The top three finishers in each event will receive scholarships of $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second and $500 for third. Points earned during the semifinals and finals can alter standings, allowing athletes to strengthen their leads or mount late comebacks.
Sixth-grader Sophia Grimmelbein of Garnet Valley, Pennsylvania, leads the middle school 800-meter run heading into the finals after a strong finish in the semifinals. Kunusasha Medas-King of Louis Armstrong Middle School in Queens is second, followed by Brielle MacDonald of Toms River Intermediate East in New Jersey.
In the women’s 30s-plus 200-meter dash, Chante Moore of Philadelphia holds the top point total, followed by Santa Medina of the Bronx and Chanell Smith of Pelham, New York.
Although New York City public high school standout Madeleine Melnick did not advance in her first CWG appearance, one of her coaches, Roslyn White of the Bronx, qualified for the 30s-plus 200-meter dash finals with a sixth-place point score.
Ayana Domingo of Cortlandt Manor, a semifinalist in the 30s-plus 200-meter dash, said the series has helped her maintain fitness and motivation. Domingo, a 49-year-old mother of two and competitive bodybuilder, said she finds inspiration in the range of athletes participating. She noted that both she and the Games will mark their 50th birthdays this year.
In the high school girls high jump, Ma’Kayla Mills of Brooklyn’s Thomas Jefferson High School and the Dashing Dons + Divas Track Club leads the standings after clearing 5 feet, 3 inches. Breanna Miller of Hudson Catholic Regional High School in Jersey City, New Jersey, is second, followed by Charlet Livingston of Calvary Chapel Academy in Brockton, Massachusetts.
More information about the Colgate Women’s Games is available at colgatewomensgames.com.
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