University of Maryland and ex-East Chapel Hill lacrosse player Tony Mendes is celebrating a world title after helping the U.S. U-19 squad win the 2008 International Lacrosse Federation World Championship trophy Saturday in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Team USA beat Canada 19-12 in the final to earn its sixth straight championship -- in fact, in the 20-year history of the tournament the Americans have never been beaten, compiling a 36-0 record.

Mendes sliced the defense apart for two goals in the final, the first a part of a 7-3 first-quarter run by the U.S. and the second on the power play three minutes before halftime.

The Canadians had expected to give their visitors a real run for their money after they blew a late lead and lost to Team USA in overtime during pool play. And indeed, the hosts were tied 7-7 halfway through the second period and found themselves still within a shout heading into the final quarter when they were down 14-11.

But the Americans quickly halted any doubts about the result by opening the fourth period with four unanswered scores, ending the dream for the country whose official sport is lacrosse -- not ice hockey.

Canada picked up a consolation with 10 minutes left, before Mendes assisted Tim Donovan, who had helped the North Carolinian score in the second quarter, on a final blow. See Scoreboard for full tournament results.

Sales strikes gold

Chapel Hill native Antonio Sales will bring home a gold medal after being a part of the 4-by-100 meter relay team that took gold Saturday at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Sales joined with compatriots Dante Sales, Marquise Goodwin and Terrell Wilks to hold off challenges from Jamaica and South Africa, as the Americans finished in 38.98 seconds.

Ex-East Chapel Hill state champion Sales, who ran the second leg on the winning relay team, finished sixth in the 200-meter final on Thursday. The University of South Carolina sprinter ran a 21.01 in Thursday's race, just more than one second behind young Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre's 20.83 winning pace.

One day earlier, Sales had run a personal-best 20.90 in a qualifying heat for the 200. He had to pull out of the 100-meter competition after winning the first heat in 10.49 seconds because he was disqualified after a false start in the semifinal.

UNC sophomore Austin Davis was sixth in the triple jump thanks to a leap of 51-9 1/4. The Northern Durham grad's jump came on his sixth and final attempt in the final round.