Port-of-Spain TRI - Marc Burns and Darrel Brown stayed on course for a titanic clash in Saturday’s Sagicor National Open Track and Field Championship men’s 100 metres final with comfortable preliminary round victories at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, on Friday (22).

Burns was first on the track, the 2002/2005 champion trotting to victory in the opening heat. Some 30 metres from home, Burns was already shutting down his engine. The US-based sprinter got to the line in a wind-assisted 10.40 seconds, well ahead of second-placed Ansel Price (10.80). The top two in each heat advanced automatically to the semi-final round.

Brown was also a comfortable qualifier for the penultimate round of the century. Running in heat five, the 2003 World Championship silver medallist jogged home in a windy 10.26. By the halfway mark, Brown was already on cruise control, the 22-year-old sprinter easily keeping reigning champion Jacey Harper at bay. Harper secured the other automatic semi-final berth with a 10.31 run.

Richard Thompson and Emmanuel Callender were impressive heat winners. Thompson topped heat three in a wind-assisted 10.22, beating Rondell Sorillo into second spot. And Callender dominated heat two, bolting to victory in 10.29 seconds. Shane Dyer (10.67) was a distant second.

Keston Bledman was the class of the field in the seventh and final heat, the 19-year-old sprinter blazing the track in a windy 10.33 seconds. Melvin Nero and Shawn Stuart also won. Nero clocked a wind-assisted 10.45 in heat six, while Stuart got home in 10.50 in heat four. Nicconnor Alexander (10.61) was runner-up to Stuart.

In addition to the 100m and 400m finals, Saturday’s programme will feature the women’s Long Jump. Rhonda Watkins is in fine form, and should dominate the event. Last month, the reigning World junior champion produced a wind-assisted 6.96 metres leap in California, USA to add the NCAA women’s Long Jump title to her list of honours. The Sunday programme includes the 200m and 800m events as well as the women’s Shot Put. Cleopatra Borel-Brown - ninth on the 2007 outdoor performance list at 18.91m - should have little difficulty capturing her fourth national Shot Put title.