February 29, 2008
Big 12 Indoor Championships
Lincoln, Nebraska ?- Day One Recap
Men?™s Teams: 1. Colorado 34; 2. Missouri 23; 3. Texas Tech 20; 4. Nebraska 15; 5. tie, Texas A&M and Kansas 14; 7. Texas 11; 8. Oklahoma State 10; 9. Iowa State 9; 10. Oklahoma 6.
Texas A&M Men - Finals
Long Jump: 1. Julien Reid, 25-5 ?˝ (7.76).
Distance Medley Relay: 5. Texas A&M, 10:00.11.
Women?™s Teams: 1. Nebraska 49.5; 2. Kansas 33; 3. Kansas State 26; 4. Texas Tech 24; 5. Missouri 22; 6. Texas 19; 7. Iowa State 18; 8. tie, Baylor and Texas A&M 12.25; 10. Oklahoma 10; 11. Oklahoma State 8.
Texas A&M Women ?- Finals
5,000: 4. Christina Munoz, 16:50.34.
Pole Vault: 7. Laura Asimakis, 12-6 ?ľ (3.83); 8. tie, Jennifer Davidson, 12-0 ?ľ (3.68).
Long Jump: 4. Ashika Charan, 19-5 ?Ľ (5.92).
Texas A&M freshman Julian Reid claimed the long jump title during the first day of the Big 12 Indoor Championships at the Bob Devaney Sports Center as two Aggie women sprinters broke the school record in the 60 meters.
Reid turned in a career best mark of 25-5 ?˝ (7.76) in the third round and it withstood the challenge from three Texas Tech jumpers and two more from Nebraska in the event. Tech?™s Anthony Flemons was the closest to Reid with a sixth round effort of 25-2 ?˝ (7.68) to place second.
?I just came here with one focus, to win,? stated Reid after his last jump in the competition. ?I wasn?™t too bothered with the distance I won with, my mindset was just on winning and performing to the best of my abilities.
?I?™m going into the triple jump with the same mindset. I know I have two teammates in the event who are very good competitors, plus other rivals in the conference. Coach Henry gave us a good speech in our team meeting saying that if we perform well then we can come home with conference titles. I felt like I did my part from that speech.?
It marks the third consecutive year that the Aggies had a freshman jumper claim gold in the Big 12 Indoor meet. Last season Zuheir Sharif won the triple jump, a title he will defend on Saturday. Two years ago Yasmine Regis won the first of two women?™s triple jump titles when she was a frosh.
Meanwhile, in qualifying for the finals of the 60 meters Porscha Lucas lowered the A&M school record to 7.27seconds when she won the second of three semifinal races. In the next heat Simone Facey reclaimed a share of the record by running 7.27 as well. They both bettered the 7.28 mark Facey established earlier this indoor season.
The first points for the Texas A&M women came in the long jump, where Ashika Charan placed fourth with a mark of 19-5 ?Ľ (6.25) to pick up five points.
Laura Asimakis added two more points with a seventh-place finish in the pole vault, setting a career best of 12-6 ?ľ (3.83). Finishing in a four-way tie for eighth, Jennifer Davidson earned .25 of a point by clearing 12-0 ?ľ (3.68).
Then Christina Munoz turned in a surprising effort in the 5,000 meters as she finished fourth in 16:50.34, which becomes the No. 2 performer in Aggie indoor history with the No. 10 performance.
The Texas A&M women, defending team champions, have 12.25 points after day one. Their total currently places them eighth. Nebraska leads the field with 49.50 points, pacing Kansas (33), Kansas State (26), Texas Tech (24) and Missouri (22) among the top five schools. Texas is currently sixth with 19 points.
On the men?™s side the Aggies closed out day one of the two-day meet with a fifth-place effort in the distance medley relay. Running with a foursome of Matt Ross, Nick Robinson, Nick Toohey and Kevin Ondrasek A&M posted a time of 10:00.11.
Just missing on a point in the 5,000 meters was Joe Sauvageau, who placed ninth in 14:31.27. It marked a 15-second PR by Sauvageau as he improved to the No. 3 performer with the No. 4 performance on the Aggie indoor all-time list.
Combined with the 10 points from Reid in the long jump, the Aggies end day one tied for fifth place with Kansas in team scoring with 14 points. Colorado holds the men?™s leading score of 34 points while Missouri (23), Texas Tech (20) and Nebraska (15) occupy the next three positions. Texas is currently seventh with 11 points.
In addition to the sprint power the A&M women put on display in the 60, Jennifer Williams lowered her career best in the 60 hurdles to 8.25 seconds as the leading qualifier.
Joining Williams in the final of the 60 hurdles are teammates Lindsey Adams (8.43) and Gabby Mayo (8.49). Advancing in the 60 with Lucas and Facey are Allison George (7.43) and Mayo (7.46).
In the 200, the Aggie duo of Lucas and Facey posted the fastest qualifying times with times of 23.21 and 23.28, respectively. Jessica Beard also advanced with a 23.84 while Mayo just missed qualifying for her third final with a 24.19.
Earlier Beard led a trio of A&M qualifiers in the 400 as she posted the leading time of 53.99. Sandy Wooten (54.71) and George (55.86) also advanced to the final. A strong effort from Evelyn Wing moved her into the final of the 800 with a clocking of 2:13.32.
The A&M women advanced a leading 14 athletes to Saturday?™s finals while the Aggie men tied Nebraska and Texas Tech with nine athletes advancing to finals.
Leading the A&M men?™s qualifying was freshman Gerald Phiri, who advanced in the 60 and 200. Phiri posted the second fastest time in the semi with a 6.68 winning effort that only trailed the 6.67 recorded by Texas Tech?™s Julius Walker.
The Aggie men enjoyed a 1-2-3 sweep of the first semifinal race as Richard Adu-Bobie (6.75) and Dominique Stafford (6.76) also advanced.
Phiri posted a 21.46 in the 200, the last time to reach the final ahead of teammates Adu-Bobie (21.50) and Stafford (21.71). Chris Dykes, who leads the Big 12 with a 20.97, won the fourth heat in 21.16, the fourth-fastest mark on the day.
In the 400 Justin Oliver (47.64) and Morquise Cleveland (48.05) advanced to the final as did A.C. Robinson in the 600 yards, where he posted a 1:10.37 in his debut with the event. Robinson moved to No. 5 performer with the No. 7 performance on the Aggie all-time list.
Kevin Ondrasek recorded the second-fastest qualifying time in the 1,000 meters with a clocking of 2:25.27, which only trailed the 2:24.16 set by Kyle Miller of Texas. Ondrasek set the No. 4 performer and performance on the Aggie all-time list with his performance.
Just missing out on the finals of the 60 hurdles was Cade Liverman, who ran a season best of 7.98. But in a tie for the eighth and final spot in the finals, the times were read to a 1000th of a second. Liverman came up just short with a 7.977 reading compared to the 7.974 for Texas Tech?™s Omoghan Osaghae. A&M?™s Melvin Echard produced a personal best of 8.12 during the three-heat semifinal.
Other finals on the day had Sarah Pierson placing 12th in the pentathlon with 3,354 points, which places her at No. 8 on the Aggie all-time list. With a second day needed to continue the men?™s heptathlon, Trinity Otto is in ninth place with 2, 966 points.
Josh Tiemann finished 11th in the men?™s weight throw, tossing a mark of 51-5 (15.67). Deidre Tarver placed 14th in the women?™s weight throw with a distance of 52-0 (15.85), an improvement by over four feet on her previous best this season and bettered her career best by nearly two feet.
Tyron Stewart placed 10th in the long jump behind teammate Reid, jumping a distance of 23-6 ?Ľ (7.17). The women?™s distance medley relay, which consisted of Brenna Williamson, Lindsey Adams, Evelyn Wing and Elizabeth Slaughter ran 12:09.70 for 11th place.
Qualifying to Saturday Finals
Texas A&M Women
60: Porscha Lucas, 7.27 PR; Simone Facey 7.27 PR; Allison George, 7.43; Gabby Mayo, 7.46
200: Porscha Lucas, 23.21; Simone Facey, 23.28; Jessica Beard, 23.84
400: Jessica Beard, 53.99; Sandy Wooten, 54.71; Allison George, 55.86
800: Evelyn Wing, 2:13.32
60H: Jennifer Williams, 8.25 PR; Lindsey Adams, 8.43; Gabby Mayo, 8.49
Texas A&M Men
60: Gerald Phiri, 6.68; Richard Adu-Bobie, 6.75; Dominique Stafford, 6.76
200: Chris Dykes, 21.16; Gerald Phiri, 21.46
400: Justin Oliver, 47.64; Morquise Cleveland, 48.05
600y: A.C. Robinson, 1:10.37
1000: Kevin Ondrasek, 2:25.27