March 02, 2006
Twenty-three personal records and seven records were set by members of the Texas A&M football team at the Night of Champions weight lifting exhibition on Thursday at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Night of Champions culminates the Aggies?â„¢ offseason and signals the beginning of spring football, which begins on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
While many tons of weights were lifted, it was the basketball dunk competition that highlighted the evening. Freshman Martellus Bennett, a tight end on the gridiron and forward on the basketball court for the Aggies, brought the crowd to its feet with a dunk that featured him leaping over head coach Dennis Franchione, who was standing, and finishing with a tomahawk jam.
?That was a first for me,? Franchione said. ?I wouldn?â„¢t trust a lot of people to do that, but I trust Martellus.?
Setting or tying overall team records were senior offensive lineman J Pond (429 pounds in the hang clean) and junior defensive tackle Red Bryant (680 pounds in the squat).
Breaking position records were freshman defensive back Devin Gregg (410 in the bench press), senior defensive back Melvin Bullitt (363 in the hang clean), and senior running back Brandon Leone (385 in the hang clean). Junior offensive lineman Corey Clark also went above the previous record in the hang clean (418), but couldn?â„¢t match Pond?â„¢s record.
In the vertical jump competion, 305-pound freshman offensive lineman Michael Shumard set a record with an astonishing 36-inch effort. Another freshman, defensive back Jordan Peterson, set a record with a 41-inch leap.
Setting personal bests in the bench press were: LB Stephen Blazek (430); OL Kirk Elder (390); DL Vincent Williams (435).
Setting personal bests in the squat were: QB Ty Branyon (480); DL Bryce Reed (625); OL Chris Yoder (660); DL Marques Thornton (590); WR Earvin Taylor (505); DB Rawley Farrel (505); OL Travis Schneider (530); DL Chris Harrington (660).
Setting personal bests in the hang clean were: DL Chris Smith (363); WR Daniel Mach (330); LB Nick Lamantia (374); and DL Cyril Obiozor (396).