Feb. 14, 2009
College Station - Victories by Gabby Mayo and Gerald Phiri opened Saturday's action at the Texas A&M Invitational and a relay win by the Aggie women closed out the second day of competition at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.
Scoring a total of 140 points secured the team title for the fourth-ranked Aggie men's team over a field of 18 scoring teams in front of a two-day crowd of 5,425 fans (3,369 on Saturday). Meanwhile, the top-ranked A&M women placed second among 21 scoring teams with 87 points.
The Invitational served as the final regular season meet of the indoor season for Texas A&M, who will host the Big 12 Championships in two weeks and the NCAA Indoor Championships in a month.
Finishing behind the Aggie men in team scoring were Texas Tech (85), Baylor (74), Texas (73), Rice (47), Barton County (46), UTEP (36.5), Texas-Arlington (36), Arizona State (32) and Louisiana Tech (20).
Texas claimed the women's title with 110.5 points with Baylor in third with 79 points. The rest of the top 10 teams included Miami (57.5), Rice (55), Arizona State (50), Texas Tech (49), TCU (42), UTEP (24), and Texas-Pan American (18).
Mayo sped to a winning time of 8.23 seconds in the 60 hurdles a week after setting a school record of 8.17. Phiri controlled the 60-meter field with a time of 6.68 and was part of a 2-3-4 Aggie effort in the 200.
With an early lead on the field Mayo held off the challenge from Miami's Ti'erra Brown (8.39), April Williams of Barton County (8.40), Krystal Bodie of Southwest Mississippi (8.40) and teammate Vashti Thomas (8.42).
Phiri combined with teammate Dominique Stafford in the 60 to produce a 1-4 finish around a 2-3 challenge by Baylor. Following Phiri's 6.68 winning mark, Trey Harts (6.72) and Whitney Prevost (6.74) crossed the line for the Bears. Then Stafford posted a 6.75 for fourth place.
In the 200 Phiri ran 21.24 for third place overall. Chris Dykes finished as runner-up with a 21.07 while Tran Howell's 21.36 mark from Friday held up for fourth place. Barton's Alonso Edward won the race in 20.89.
Using the 4 x 400 relay to close out the women's portion of the meet with a strong finish, the A&M women defeated a talented relay pool of teams.
Sandy Wooten, who turned in a stellar performance in her 600-yard debut on Friday, moved the Aggies from fourth to first on the third leg of the relay.
"I enjoyed running that distance, it was different," noted Wooten of the 600 yard experience. "Now I have new options to chose from at the Big 12 meet. So, I'm excited to have the 600 as an option.
"The strange thing is I didn't feel tight in the 600 like I normally do in the 400. The longer race felt smoother and that might have been from the pace I was running."
At the final exchange of the baton Texas reclaimed the lead with a slight edge over Texas A&M.
"I knew if I could get Jessica close, and just have her in the race, she is going to take it home no matter what," Wooten replied. "The 200 mark came so quick for me. I was trying to stay smooth throughout the race, but I started to get a little tight on the home stretch."
The UT lead didn't last too long as Allison George and Porscha Lucas.
"I think Sandy is a very good come from behind runner, so once I saw her with the baton I knew she was going to put in her two cents," Beard said. "I knew we we're going to do well when she helped me out."
Miami, who ran in another section, placed second in 3:38.46 while Texas finished third overall at 3:38.49. Baylor (3:40.37), Arizona State (3:40.46), Texas Tech (3:41.74) and Louisiana Tech (3:41.80) made for an exciting pair of section finals.
Another highlight for the men involved the continued progression of De'Lon Isom finished sixth in 8.11.
Echard improved upon an 8.12 PR set last year and equaled this season. He is currently equal to the No. 9 mark all-time on the A&M list, matching John Peschel's mark from 2004.
"I've been training hard and trying to run my best in the hurdles," Echard said. "In the prelims I ran 8.2 and thought that's not quite right. I knew I still needed to work on pushing out at the start. Training with De'Lon in the hurdles has made me a better hurdler.
"It's tough splitting time with the jumps and hurdles, but I think I have the right balance between the two in terms of training time with each event. It works out fine. Hopefully I can put it all together for the Big 12 championship."
One of four runner-up efforts by the Aggie men on Saturday, the 4 x 400 relay clocked a 3:09.97 to finish behind Baylor's 3:06.67. The running order for A&M included Howell, Justin Oliver, Dykes and Bryan Miller.
The Aggies ran two other relays in the meet, posting times of 3:12.47 and 3:14.67.
Oliver and Miller also produced solid times in the 400, placing fourth and seventh with marks of 47.11 and 47.61. Miller moved to No. 7 performer on the Aggie all-time list with his indoor PR.
Placing second for Texas A&M also included Kevin McNab in the 3,000 and Keenan Hall in the triple jump.
McNab ran 8:13.61 while MacLean O'Donnell ran 8:33.38 for eighth place. In the women's 3,000 Christina Munoz placed fourth with a 9:44.75.
Hall hit a distance of 52-0 ½ (15.86) as runner-up in the triple jump behind a 52-1 ¾ (15.89) from Anthony Flemons of Texas Tech. Echard placed fifth with a 50-4 ¾ (15.36).
The women's triple jump contributed a handful of points to the women's ledger with a 4-6-7 finish. Ashika Charan led the crew with a 41-6 ½ (12.66) mark as Tiffany Peters (40-6) and Vashti Thomas (40-4) followed.