June 4, 2010
NEW ORLEANS - Texas A&M sprinters Curtis Mitchell were selected Track Athlete of the Year in the South Central Region as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Friday.
In addition Aggie head coach Pat Henry earned men's and women's Head Coach of the Year honors while Assistant Coach of the Year honors were awarded to A&M assistant coaches Vince Anderson and Jim VanHootegem.
Jessica Beard, undefeated this outdoor season in the 400 meters, won her sixth Big 12 title (three indoors, three outdoors) during adverse weather conditions in Columbia, Missouri last month and anchored the Aggies to a victory in the 4 x 400 relay with a 50.8 split. Beard holds the school record in the 400 with a 50.56 set as the NCAA silver medalist last June.
Beard also ran on the 4 x 200 squad which won a Championship of America title during the Penn Relays and established a collegiate record of 1:29.42. In the 200 Beard lowered her career best to 23.05, fifth fastest all-time at Texas A&M, and also placed fourth in the Big 12 final.
During the NCAA West preliminary rounds in Austin last weekend Beard posted leading qualifying times of 51.25 and 51.35 in advancing to the NCAA semifinals in Eugene. Texas A&M won its heat of the 4 x 400 relay with Beard supplying another sterling anchor leg, splitting 50.3 seconds.
After winning a NCAA Indoor title in the 200 meters, Curtis Mitchell has maintained an undefeated record over that distance during the outdoor campaign. He added the Big 12 Outdoor title to the one he claimed indoors with a winning time of 20.46.
Mitchell won six races indoors and now has added six victories during the outdoor season to increase his winning streak to 12 races during the 2010 campaign. He led qualifying in the 200 at the NCAA West preliminary rounds with career best times of 20.27 and 20.23. Mitchell also advanced to the NCAA semifinal in Eugene in the 100 where he lowered his personal best to 10.25. During the Big 12 meet Mitchell finished fourth in the 100.
Indoors Mitchell eclipsed a 22-year-old A&M record in the 200 with his winning time of 20.38 from the NCAA Indoor Championships. Now he is bearing down on the 23-year-old outdoor record of 19.95 set by Floyd Heard in 1987.
In addition to his exploits over 200 meters, Mitchell supplies key legs on Aggie relays ranging from 4 x 100, 4 x 200 and 4 x 400. He anchored the 4 x 100 to victory at the Penn Relays and ran on 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relays that claimed titles at the Texas Relays. During the Big 12 Championships Mitchell ran on the winning 4 x 400 (44.7 split), which ended a 12-year winning streak by Baylor, and runner-up 4 x 100.
Season highlights for Coach Henry's A&M teams this outdoor season started with outstanding team honors at the Texas Relays when the Aggies tallied nine wins on the final day of the meet. Two collegiate records were set by A&M at the Penn Relays while the Aggies totaled four relay victories.
During the Big 12 Championships, Texas A&M became the first school to claim nine of 10 sprint events for men and women combined. The Aggie women won a fourth consecutive outdoor conference team title and it was the eighth Big 12 team title, including indoors, since 2007.
The Aggies recently returned to the No. 1 position in the USTFCCCA rankings based on athletes, and their marks, who qualified for the NCAA Championships in Eugene. Texas A&M posted the top qualifying times during the NCAA West region meet in the men's 100, 200, 400, 4 x 100, 4 x 400 and triple jump along with the women's 100, 200, 400. 100 hurdles, and 4 x 100.
Coach Henry is the only coach to win men's and women's NCAA Outdoor team titles in the same season. He has achieved the feat three times, and at two institutions. During his time at LSU the Tigers won dual titles in 1989 and 1990. Then last year in Fayetteville, Arkansas, a dual team victory supplied Texas A&M with its first-ever national championships in track and field.
Coach Anderson's sprint and hurdle crew totaled 98 points in the Big 12 meet as the Aggie women won the team title by 52 points over Nebraska with a total of 157 points. The Aggie women won conference titles in the 100, 200, 400, 100 hurdles, 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relays.
After setting the collegiate record of 42.36 in the 4 x 100 at last year's NCAA Championships, the A&M sprint relay crew recorded the fastest times ever by a collegiate team in the month of April (42.56 at Texas Relays) and May (42.49 at NCAA West Region) during the 2010 season. The Aggies will seek a fourth consecutive NCAA title in the 4 x 100 relay at Hayward Field next weekend.
Coach VanHootegem's jumpers and multi-event athletes totaled 26 points in the men's scoring at Big 12, which included a win in the triple jump by Zuheir Sharif, who also won the Texas Relays and Texas Invitational while finishing second at the Penn Relays.
Five jumpers qualified for the NCAA West preliminary rounds in the long and triple jump. Four jumpers advanced to Eugene to join a decathlete for the NCAA Championship weekend. In Austin the A&M jumpers posted the top two qualifying marks in the triple jump.
Last season 18 points were scored in the men's NCAA Outdoor triple jump by the Aggie jumps crew, which enabled the A&M 4 x 400 relay an opportunity to win the team title with a runner-up finish in the final race of the meet. Texas A&M won the NCAA Championship by two points over a trio of schools tied for second place.