Aggies have 18 athletes in NCAA Indoor Championships
Mar 12, 2009 | Track and Field
March 12, 2009
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College Station - Following declarations by teams earlier this week, the field has been set for the NCAA Indoor Championships being hosted by Texas A&M in its new Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium at McFerrin Athletic Center.
The No. 1 Texas A&M women's team will have a squad of nine athletes competing in six events while the No. 7 Aggie men's team will enter nine athletes for five events. The A&M women had three individuals with automatic qualifying marks in four events while the men have four individuals with automatic qualifying marks in two events, three of those individuals are competing in the triple jump.
Representing the women's team, with the events they will contest in parenthesis, include: Porscha Lucas (60, 200, 4x400), Allison George (200, 4x400), Khrystal Carter (200), Yasmine Regis (triple jump), Ashika Charan (triple jump), and Sandy Wooten (4x400). Brittany Machacek will be an alternate for the relay.
Competing in the NCAA men's field for the Aggies are: Justin Oliver (400, 4x400), Zuheir Sharif (triple jump), Kyle Dykhuizen (4x4). Chris Dykes is an alternate for the relay.
Both programs enjoyed top 10 finishes at the NCAA Indoor meet last season with the women placing seventh and the men tying for 10th place. It was the best finish for the women at the indoor nationals in program history while the men produced its best finish since 1989 and 1990 when A&M placed third both seasons.
Porscha Lucas has automatically qualified for the national meet in the 60 meters and 200 meters. She leads the nation in the 200 with the only sub-23 second time recorded this season. Her 22.94 at the Big 12 Indoor enabled Lucas to defend her title.
Also entering the women's meet with automatic qualifying marks are Yasmine Regis (triple jump). Both athletes rank third in the nation with school record marks of 52.35 seconds for Beard and 44 feet, 4 ¼ inches for Regis.
Zuheir Sharif has led the men's collegiate list in the triple jump for a majority of the season and even held the top spot on the U.S. indoor list briefly. He equaled the school record this season with a 53-3 to win during the dual meet with Texas and then claimed sole possession of the A&M record with a 53-11 winning effort at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York City. A 53-9 measurement won the Big 12 Indoor title, the second conference title for Sharif after claiming it as a freshman in 2007.
Gerald Phiri produced an automatic qualifying mark in the 60 meters with a school record time of 6.59 seconds when he challenged LSU's Trindon Holliday during the Texas A&M Showdown that featured three Big 12 schools against three SEC schools.
Joining Sharif with automatic marks in the triple jump are Julian Reid and Melvin Echard, who are currently eighth and ninth on the collegiate list with marks of 52-11 ½ and 52-10 ¾. Another Aggie who joined the NCAA triple jump field is Tyron Stewart (52-8 ¾).
Improved times for both Aggie 4 x 400 relays were needed this past weekend during a last chance qualifying meet in Ames, Iowa. The men's 4x4 squad is eighth in the nation with a 3:07.26 while the women's 4x4 is ninth in the nation with a 3:35.93.
Gabby Mayo, Big 12 champion in the 60 and 60 hurdles, is eighth in the nation for both the 60 meters (7.28) and the 200 meters (23.41). Mayo was the high point scorer during the Big 12 Championships, claiming 23 points off her two victories and a sixth-place finish in the 200.
Another dual threat in the NCAA meet for the Aggies is Vashti Thomas, who produced provisional marks in three events - 60 hurdles, long jump and triple jump. She made the field in the triple jump where her 43-7 is tied for seventh and in the long jump where her mark of 20-9 is 18th.
Also among the top 16 with NCAA provisional marks are Allison George (12th - 23.57) and Khrystal Carter (16th - 23.73) in the women's 200, Reid (=12th - 25-6) in the long jump, Ashika Charan (15th - 43-0 ¼) in the triple jump.
Players Mentioned
