Photo by: Joshua Mills
Aggies named indoor dual meet champions by Track & Field News
Feb 14, 2018 | Track and Field
COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M men and women were each proclaimed 2018 indoor dual meet champions by Track & Field News. It's the third time the Aggie men and women have each claimed the honor since 2013 while completing another sweep of titles they also enjoyed in 2016.
Texas A&M men have earned the indoor dual meet champions title in 2013, 2016 and 2018 while the Aggie women have garnered the title in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
In the quadrangular meet Texas A&M hosted in January the Aggie women bettered No. 3 Texas, No. 12 Baylor and No. 17 Arizona State. Meanwhile, the Aggie men defeated No. 2 Texas, Baylor and Arizona State.
"I think we need to have more dual meets, and I think fans would like to see that," stated Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. "Dual competitions can be good, but it has to fit in to how we're playing this game right now in qualifying for indoor nationals."
This weekend Texas A&M will host the Aggie Twilight on Saturday, starting at 5 p.m. inside Gilliam Indoor Stadium. In addition, a pair of distance medley relay teams head to Notre Dame for the Alex Wilson Invitational, also held on Saturday.
"This meet allows us to get some people on the track who need to fire the motor up once more before the conference meet," noted Henry. "But, we'll also not compete quite a few people this weekend.
"With the meet at home we're fortunate that way. It provides one more opportunity for someone who currently isn't on our SEC team to make the SEC team. We have three or four who are sitting on the bubble right now. I want to see them compete this weekend, then we'll determine if they compete in the SEC Championships."
The Aggie distance medley relays each currently lead the conference this indoor season with times of 9:39.78 for the men and 11:12.06 for the women. On the national indoor list for 2018, the Texas A&M men and women both currently rank eighth with the top 12 relay teams qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
"With the DMRs having to go to Notre Dame is just a catastrophe in the way I think about track and field," added Henry. "Teams are jumping around from place to place, trying to get a certain time while running with certain people. To me, that's not track and field. We should have to have our whole team when we do this.
"We're out there on an island right now and I've refused to do this on most occasions, but right now I have eight people (four per relay) who might not qualify for the national championships if I don't do this. The distance medley relay is a big event for us this year and it could be a very big scoring event for us. We have to play the game, that's all there is to it."
Following the meets this weekend, the Aggies head into indoor postseason action where they serve as host of the SEC Indoor Championships, Feb. 24-25, and NCAA Indoor Championships, March 9-10, at Gilliam Indoor Stadium.
Cross Country Academic Honors
In cross country, the Texas A&M's men and women were each recognized for academic success as a team while a pair of individuals – Jonathon Bishop and Ashley Driscoll – were honored as All-Academic by USTFCCCA. The Aggie women produced a GPA of 3.42 while the men were at 3.19 in earning All-Academic team accolades.
Track & Field News – FINAL Indoor Dual Meet Rankings
MEN
1. Texas A&M
2. Texas
3. Michigan
4. Ohio State
5. Nebraska
6. Tennessee
7. Indiana
8. Arkansas
9. Houston
10. Minnesota
11. Louisville
12. Illinois
13. Kansas
14. Wichita State
15. Air Force
WOMEN
1. Texas A&M
2. Minnesota
3. Texas
4. Ohio State
5. Arkansas
6. Kansas State
7. Tennessee
8. Indiana
9. North Carolina
10. Wisconsin
11. Nebraska
12. Baylor
13. BYU
14. Louisville
15. Michigan
Texas A&M men have earned the indoor dual meet champions title in 2013, 2016 and 2018 while the Aggie women have garnered the title in 2014, 2016 and 2018.
In the quadrangular meet Texas A&M hosted in January the Aggie women bettered No. 3 Texas, No. 12 Baylor and No. 17 Arizona State. Meanwhile, the Aggie men defeated No. 2 Texas, Baylor and Arizona State.
"I think we need to have more dual meets, and I think fans would like to see that," stated Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. "Dual competitions can be good, but it has to fit in to how we're playing this game right now in qualifying for indoor nationals."
This weekend Texas A&M will host the Aggie Twilight on Saturday, starting at 5 p.m. inside Gilliam Indoor Stadium. In addition, a pair of distance medley relay teams head to Notre Dame for the Alex Wilson Invitational, also held on Saturday.
"This meet allows us to get some people on the track who need to fire the motor up once more before the conference meet," noted Henry. "But, we'll also not compete quite a few people this weekend.
"With the meet at home we're fortunate that way. It provides one more opportunity for someone who currently isn't on our SEC team to make the SEC team. We have three or four who are sitting on the bubble right now. I want to see them compete this weekend, then we'll determine if they compete in the SEC Championships."
The Aggie distance medley relays each currently lead the conference this indoor season with times of 9:39.78 for the men and 11:12.06 for the women. On the national indoor list for 2018, the Texas A&M men and women both currently rank eighth with the top 12 relay teams qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
"With the DMRs having to go to Notre Dame is just a catastrophe in the way I think about track and field," added Henry. "Teams are jumping around from place to place, trying to get a certain time while running with certain people. To me, that's not track and field. We should have to have our whole team when we do this.
"We're out there on an island right now and I've refused to do this on most occasions, but right now I have eight people (four per relay) who might not qualify for the national championships if I don't do this. The distance medley relay is a big event for us this year and it could be a very big scoring event for us. We have to play the game, that's all there is to it."
Following the meets this weekend, the Aggies head into indoor postseason action where they serve as host of the SEC Indoor Championships, Feb. 24-25, and NCAA Indoor Championships, March 9-10, at Gilliam Indoor Stadium.
Cross Country Academic Honors
In cross country, the Texas A&M's men and women were each recognized for academic success as a team while a pair of individuals – Jonathon Bishop and Ashley Driscoll – were honored as All-Academic by USTFCCCA. The Aggie women produced a GPA of 3.42 while the men were at 3.19 in earning All-Academic team accolades.
Track & Field News – FINAL Indoor Dual Meet Rankings
MEN
1. Texas A&M
2. Texas
3. Michigan
4. Ohio State
5. Nebraska
6. Tennessee
7. Indiana
8. Arkansas
9. Houston
10. Minnesota
11. Louisville
12. Illinois
13. Kansas
14. Wichita State
15. Air Force
WOMEN
1. Texas A&M
2. Minnesota
3. Texas
4. Ohio State
5. Arkansas
6. Kansas State
7. Tennessee
8. Indiana
9. North Carolina
10. Wisconsin
11. Nebraska
12. Baylor
13. BYU
14. Louisville
15. Michigan
Players Mentioned
Distance
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