Hooker, Manzano qualify for world championships

The Southwest High graduate finished third in the 200-meter final at the USA Track & Field Championships on Sunday at Hayward Field, running a wind-aided 22.36 seconds to earn a berth in the IAAF World Championships in Berlin on Aug. 5-13.

Allyson Felix won in 22.02, the fastest time in the world this season under any conditions. Texas A&M volunteer assistant coach Muna Lee was second in 22.13.

Hooker rebounded from a fifth-place finish in the 100 on Friday, where she seemed to falter down the stretch.

“I had a short amount of time to get it together for the 200,” Hooker said. “I went home, prayed about it, and went right back on the track.”

Hooker, running in the fifth lane, kept her composure when Felix pulled even in the third lane and charged down the homestretch.

“I felt (Felix and Lee) coming and maintained my form and ran all the way through the line,” Hooker said. “The 100 was very fresh on my mind. I tightened up, and it cost me. So I knew that I had to go out there and execute in the 200.”

Former 100 and 200 world champion Tyson Gay, who trains with Hooker under the guidance of coach Jon Drummond, helped with the mental part of it with emotional support throughout the four-day meet.

Gay gave Hooker a bear hug as she gazed at the results flashing on a video board.

“Yesterday, I asked, ‘How did you do this? You are a beast,'” Hooker said about Gay. “He told me, ‘I did it, and you can do it.'”