March 19, 2009
Los Angeles - A week after hosting the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Texas A&M track and field teams will begin the outdoor season by competing in the Trojan Invitational hosted by USC on Friday and Saturday.
The Aggies are spending the spring break week in Pasadena while training at Occidental. Action in the Trojan Invitational starts on Friday at 2 p.m. with the hammer throw being staged at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.
Saturday's events, which begin at 9 a.m. with the javelin, will be held at Loker Stadium / Cromwell Field on the USC campus. Joining the Aggies and the Trojans will be Washington State, Long Beach State, Cal State Northridge, Fresno State and the SMU women's team. Other programs include Cal State Fullerton, UC Santa Barbara, San Diego State, Pepperdine, Cal State LA, Bakersfield, Southern Illinois and North Dakota.
The A&M women open the outdoor season following a runner-up team finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships, where Tennessee won the national title with just a five-point cushion over the Aggies. A win in the 4 x 400 relay to close out the meet catapulted the A&M women from fifth place to second.
The outdoor season will also have the 4 x 100 relay team back in action. Texas A&M, the two-time defending champions in the women's sprint relay, will feature a line-up that includes four sprinters from the following group - Elizabeth Adeoti, Khrystal Carter, Allison George, Porscha Lucas.
After claiming the 2007 title in 43.05 seconds, the 2008 crew defended their title with a sizzling 42.59 clocking.
The Aggie men, NCAA runner-up in both the 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays last season, also feature a bevy of sprint talent. Recently the Texas A&M men placed ninth at the NCAA Indoor Championships, their best finish since1990.
Three legs of the NCAA 4 x 100 unit return in Chris Dykes, Justin Oliver, and Dominique Stafford. Gerald Phiri, a triple gold medalist at the Big 12 Championships last spring, missed the NCAA meet in Des Moines, Iowa, with an injury. Tran Howell, who joined the squad in January, has made an impact on the 4 x 400 relay and should contribute to the 4 x 100 relay as well.
The outdoor campaign also marks the debut for the Aggie javelin throwers in 2009. Last season four women throwers qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Last year's group was led by two-time All-American Jessica Wingfield, who has graduated Texas A&M and is presently in medical school. Based on distance, Hillary Pustka (164-2), Ilsa Rodriguez (140-10) and Hali Henderson (136-4).
During the Big 12 meet in Boulder, Colorado, last season the javelin crew scored 23 points based on a 2-3-4-5 finish for Wingfield, Pustka, Asimakis and Humphreys. Then in the Midwest Region meet a 4-6-7-8 effort - Wingfield, Humphreys, Pustka and Asimakis - sent four throwers to the NCAA Championships.
Texas A&M will end the month of March competing at the Arizona State Invitational in Tempe, Arizona. Then the first week of April brings along the Texas Relays in Austin from April 1-4, Wednesday to Saturday.