Texas A&M
Penn Relays
Texas A&M sweeps 4x1 and 4x2 at Penn Relay Carnival
Apr 26, 2009 | Track and Field
April 25, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - Texas A&M displayed its sprinting prowess during Saturday's portion of the Penn Relay Carnival as they added three more Championship of America relay titles to the one they claimed the day before.
As temperatures rose to 88 degrees at Franklin Field with a crowd of 47,907 on hand, the sprint action on the track became faster. The Aggies set school records in winning the men's and women's 4 x 200 crowns and produced the second fastest time during their men's 4 x 100 victory.
In addition Tyron Stewart recorded A&M's fifth Championship of America title on the weekend when he captured the triple jump a day after winning the long jump in the college division.
"I'm really pleased with the times we produced in winning those four races," Aggie head coach Pat Henry said. "We felt we were capable of running pretty well, maybe a little better than I thought we would run today. The atmosphere and weather were really great today, plus there was good competition. Good things happen in that environment.
"Even while at LSU I don't know if I've ever had a team win both 4x2s and both 4x1s in the same year. So, I'm extremely pleased with this group of sprinters."
In fact Texas A&M became the first school to win four sprint relays since women's competition was added to the Penn Relay Carnival in 1979. The Aggies were awarded four of the Championship of America trophy wheels and totaled 17 Penn Relays watches.
"This is amazing to anchor two winning relays at this meet," noted senior Justin Oliver. "The Penn Relays is the biggest meet of the year for us in terms of crowd size with the atmosphere, energy and emotion behind it. To cross the finish line first, with the times we ran, is amazing."
Fellow senior Chris Dykes added: "It's great to be out here in this atmosphere. After coming here for four years to finally get one win is great, and to leave here with two wins is even better. I just do what I need to do and have confidence in the other guys running with me. Once I saw Justin open up on the anchor leg I knew it was ours."
Texas A&M men won the men's 4 x 100 in a time of 38.79, second fastest time at Penn Relays in this event. It becomes the fastest winning time since 2001 when TCU set the Relays record of 38.68. It also marks the second win for the Aggies in this event with the previous title claimed in 1997.
"In the 4x1 I knew Chris was going to bring it to me in the lead and I just had tunnel vision," Oliver recalled. "I didn't know who was on either side of me or how close they were. I just got the stick and brought it home."
A&M defeated Florida State (38.82) to reverse their finish during the Texas Relays earlier this month while LSU (38.88) placed third. Texas A&M ran with the order of Tran Howell, Gerald Phiri, Dykes and Oliver. This year's crew recorded the fifth fastest time in school history.
"In this venue and on this track to run our best time of the year, that is what you try to line it up and do," Henry said. "We executed pretty well today and we were fortunate to win. It's a great day for us. Plus when you combine it with the women's title we won on Friday, it's a great achievement for our sprinters."
The Aggies swept the 4 x 200 titles on Saturday with the women running 1:30.28 while the men cruised to a 1:20.32 victory. Yesterday the A&M women won the 4 x 100 and the men completed the sweep in that relay today.
With a three-day total of 111,720 fans in Franklin Field, the meet enjoyed its sixth consecutive year with 100,000-plus in attendance. The 2009 total is the fifth highest in Penn Relays history.
The women ran the second fastest 4 x 200 time at the Penn Relays, trailing only a 1:29.78 set by LSU in 2003. They also broke the school record of 1:30.96 set in the prelims of the Penn Relays last year. On the all-time collegiate list the Aggies are the second fastest school with the third best performance.
The A&M women defended their 2008 title with a crew of Porscha Lucas. The Aggies faced a challenge from Auburn, who was runner-up in 1:31.10 while LSU placed third in 1:32.03.
"This is great, I'm really happy we were able to win both relays," Lucas said. "The 4 x 200 was similar to last year when LSU was right there with us. It's always fun to have the competition. I think it pushes me more.
"There are so many people here and the crowd noise is so loud. It gets me extra pumped to perform and run better."
Beard noted: "I came out here and wanted to take advantage of the environment. Running the first leg of the 4 x 200 gives me a chance to work on my start and my push out of the blocks. I was just hoping I could get the girls in a good position to do well.
"It was an exciting race. We were right there with Auburn and it was close through the third leg. We made up the stagger by that point and knew that Porscha would bring it home for us. I know that watch we won is going to look nice and shiny."
In the men's 4 x 200 the Aggie crew of Bryan Miller, Phiri, Dykes and Oliver defeated two SEC squads in Florida (1:21.52), the collegiate leader coming into this weekend, and South Carolina (1:21.60). A&M's time of 1:20.32 is the sixth fastest at the Penn Relays and the quickest winning time since 2002.
"I watched the first couple of legs in the 4x2 and it looked like it was going to be another close race," Oliver said. "Then Chris destroyed it. When I got the baton I knew I had to stay smart, stay efficient and run hard to bring it home. When I got to the homestretch I knew we were on a fast pace so I just kept it going.
"My parents have been so supportive and proud of me for so long I'm going to send one of the two watches we won to them."
The Aggie men also broke a school record of 1:21.38 set in 1990 by Andre Cason, Derrick Florence, Steve Lofton and Howard Davis. On the collegiate all-time list the Aggies become the fourth fastest school with the seventh best performance.
"It was fantastic," Phiri stated. "It came down to our two seniors, Chris and Justin. I promised them two watches today and we delivered. They ran the last two legs of each relay and finished off each victory. I'm so happy for them.
"To be honest this feels so much better to win a Penn Relays title as part of a relay compared to the 100 title I won here last year."
Miller added: "This is my first time running the 4x2 ever. It's a great feeling to run so fast on this track and in front of this crowd. I'm so excited."
Stewart defeated an elite field for the Championship title in the triple jump. His winning mark of 53-9 (16.38) bettered NCAA Indoor champion Christian Taylor of Florida (53-5) while Aggie teammate Zuheir Sharif placed third with a 53-4.5 (16.27) mark.
"It was wonderful," Stewart said. "I got a taste of what it was like to win here during the long jump on Friday. I forgot my triple jump spikes and had to borrow some from Angela Thomas, but they were a couple sizes smaller than mine. It was tough on my feet, but it was great to come through for the crowd and perform for my parents."
Wrapping up their impressive weekend at the Penn Relays the A&M men finished third in the 4 x 400 relay with a season best time of 3:03.56 while the women placed fifth in 3:35.57. In the 110 hurdles De'Lon Isom finished fifth with a time of 14.13 seconds.
Both 4 x 400 relays included impressive splits for the Aggies. The men's splits included a pair of 45.0 splits for Miller on the second leg and Oliver on anchor. Kyle Dykhuizen ran the third leg in 45.8. The mark makes this squad the fifth fastest unit in school history.
Beard ran the second leg of the women's relay in 50.9 seconds. Mayo (56.5) started the relay off with Sandy Wooten (55.76) and Allison George (52.41) handling the final two legs. Their effort makes them the eighth best performance on the Aggie all-time list.
Players Mentioned
