Texas A&M
Texas Relays
Pustka wins second Texas Relays javelin
Apr 02, 2010 | Track and Field
April 2, 2010
AUSTIN - Amid a cool morning session with very brisk winds from the south, the Aggies turned in very productive efforts amid finals and qualifying rounds.
Hillary Pustka, a senior from Shiner, won her second title in the javelin while Laura Asimakis set a personal best placing third in the pole vault. In the men's long jump Tyron Stewart placed fourth.
In the evening session the Aggies sprint medley relay placed second in 3:16.42 while the 4 x 1500 squad placed fifth in 15:33.44.
Qualifying rounds in relays, hurdles and sprints produced top marks for Texas A&M in the women's 4 x 100 (43.76), men's 4 x 100 (39.80), women's 4 x 400 (3:34.47). The Aggies entered the meet with the collegiate leading time in each of those events and are the world leaders in the women's sprint relay at 43.62.
In addition the Aggies sent three hurdlers to the finals of the 100 hurdles while three sprinters advanced to the finals of the 100 meters.
Pustka provided the Aggies with its first victory at the 83rd running of the Texas Relays as she claimed the B division javelin with a mark of 160-9 (49.00). Pustka also won the B division of the javelin back in 2008 with a distance of 161-5.
"This win will boost my confidence," Pustka said. "I want to improve every meet from here on out. My parents love coming to Austin, so it's a treat for them to come watch me throw at the Texas Relays."
Pustka took over the lead with a fourth round toss of 159-3 (48.55) and then produced her winning mark in the fifth round. She was just off her career best of 164-2 (50.04) set back in 2008.
Idaho's Ulrike Hartz placed second with a 157-4 while Marissa Minderler of USC finished third with a 157-3.
"It took till my fourth throw to get there, but it felt good," Pustka said. "It was a good day with the conditions, the wind didn't affect us after warm-up.
"It's always special to win at the Texas Relays. I'm finally getting back to where I was in 2008."
The Aggies ran with a crew of Kyle Dykhuizen and Joey Roberts in the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay, which involves legs of 200, 200, 400 and 800 meters.
On the exchange of the baton from Dykhuizen to Roberts, Texas A&M was in third place behind Baylor and LSU. During the 800 anchor leg, LSU's Richard Jones caught up with Baylor's anchor James Gilreath. Meanwhile, Roberts was passed temporarily by TCU.
In the final 150 meters Roberts reclaimed third and then made a drive to the finish to contend for the win. Jones carried LSU to a school record and the victory in 3:16.10 while Roberts caught Gilreath at the finish line and took second in 3:16.42 with Baylor third at 3:16.44. Roberts split 1:47.9 after a 46.0 carry from Dykhuizen.
It's the fastest time in the past five years the Aggies have recorded in the event. Last season A&M placed 10th in 3:22.91 and were ninth in 2007 at 3:21.84. Texas A&M's school record is 3:15.10 from 1988.
Another final on Friday found Laura Asimakis clearing a career best of 12-11 3/4 (3.96) to place third in the B division of the pole vault. Asimakis matched the winning mark, but placed third behind Cassie Craig of Wichita State and Akron's Katherine Lee based on misses at the 12-11 3/4 height.
Craig made the winning height on her first attempt while Lee needed two efforts and Asimakis cleared on her third try. All three missed three attempts at 13-3 3/4 (4.06).
Had Asimakis cleared the next height it would have established a Texas A&M school record. Erica Boren holds the Aggie school record at 13-3 1/2 (4.05).
Asimakis, already the second best vaulter in A&M history, recorded her seventh mark among the all-time top 15 performances. In recent Texas Relays pole vault Asimakis tied for seventh in 2009 and tied for sixth in 2008.
Stewart long jumped 24-10 (7.57) while Cal State Northridge's Reindell Cole claimed the win with a 25-5 1/4 effort.
For the 4 x 1500 relay the Aggies ran with a squad of C.J. Brown (3:53.3) and Joe Sauvageau (3:54.6). The time of 15:33.44 is the fastest A&M has run in the event over the past couple of years. The Aggies placed third the past two years with times of 15:58.10 (2008) and 16:01.25 (2009).
Texas A&M led qualifying rounds in the 4 x 100 relay on Friday morning as the foursome of Porscha Lucas, Dominique Duncan and Gabby Mayo sped to a winning time of 43.76 in their heat and posted the top time overall.
Lucas ran for the first time this outdoor season, handling her customary second leg duties on the sprint relay.
"I'm happy to be back," noted Lucas, who dealt with a back injury during the indoor season. "It was good for us to run that time with the conditions we faced. Things felt normal today. I've been doing this for so long it's just something that comes natural for me.
"It was frustrating to miss a couple weeks of the outdoor season, but it was something that was needed in order for me to get back to where I was and I needed that. I'm happy I'm back healthy now."
Joining the Aggies in the final will be LSU (44.27), Houston (45.10), Oklahoma (45.26), Texas Tech (45.32), South Plains (45.49), UTEP (45.55), and North Texas (45.73). LSU entered the meet with the second fastest time in the nation at 43.68 behind the world-leading mark of 43.62 by A&M.
In the men's 4 x 100 relay the A&M crew of Curtis Mitchell cruised to a 39.80 heat winner for the top overall time.
Also reaching the final of the sprint relay were Baylor (39.99), LSU (40.28), Mississippi State (40.40), UTSA (40.49), TCU (40.28), USC (40.70) and UTEP (40.77).
"It's my third year here, so I knew what to expect with early morning races," Phiri stated. "I've been up since 5 o'clock and my legs are a bit tired. We've been communicating as a team since our mistake in Puerto Rico. We're working hard and our exchanges are getting better."
Donique' Flemings finishing second in the same heat at 13.67. Vashti Thomas won the next heat in 13.63 (2.4 wind).
All three hurdlers advanced to the final with the top time by Ruddock while Thomas ranked seventh and Flemings ranked eighth.
Melvin Echard was a heat winner in the men's 110 hurdles, running 14.37 (5.3 wind). Echard finished 17th overall in the qualifying field.
The women's 100 prelims featured wins by Elizabeth Adeoti placed fifth in her heat with an 11.96 (3.7 wind).
Mayo's time was second best to the 11.20 run by LSU's Samantha Henry while Tarmoh posted the seventh fastest time. Adeoti ranked 28th among the field of 66 sprinters.
Gerald Phiri ran a 10.32 (2.7 wind) to win a heat of the 100 meters. Phiri's time was second best to a 10.22 run by Luther Ambrose of Louisiana-Monroe.
The women's 4 x 400 squad ran the fastest qualifying time by nearly three seconds with a time of 3:34.47 from the foursome of Donique' Flemings (54.5), Ashika Charan (53.9) and Jessica Beard (51.9).
Joining the Aggies in the final of the 4 x 400 relay will be USC (3:37.41), LSU (3:37.62), Texas (3:37.84), Texas Tech (3:38.99), Kansas (3:40.03), Arkansas (3:40.09), Angelo State (3:42.39), and Mississippi State (3:42.42).
In the women's long jump finals Sasha-Kay Matthias finished 10th with a windy 19-9 1/2 (6.03).
Players Mentioned
