Jan. 15, 2011
Complete Results - PDF Version
COLLEGE STATION - The Aggies supplied 11 victories as the Big 12 claimed both scoring titles in the Texas A&M Conference Challenge hosted at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in front of 2,202 fans on Saturday.
In the men's competition the Big 12 totaled 271 points with the Southland runner-up at 152 ahead of the Sunbelt (110) and SWAC (53) conferences. On the women's side the Big 12 tallied 362 ½ points to outdistance the 104 produced by Southland squads as well as the Sunbelt (69 ½) and SWAC (44).
In addition to the Aggies, the Big 12 trio had representation from Baylor and Oklahoma. The Southland consisted of Northwestern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin and Texas-Arlington. From the Sunbelt were Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe and North Texas. The SWAC included Prairie View A&M, Southern-Baton Rouge and Texas Southern.
Highlighting Texas A&M's victories was an NCAA automatic qualifier in the men's 4 x 400 relay as the foursome of Bryan Miller (47.65), Demetrius Pinder (45.56), Tabarie Henry (47.05) and Tran Howell (46.25) clocked 3:06.49 to just edge the automatic standard of 3:06.50. It's the fifth-fastest mark on the school's all-time list.
"This weekend was about taking that first step, trying to get the best out of each individual," Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry said. "We have some good quarter-milers right now and they were ready to run today. It was good to see them get an automatic mark with that win."
Finishing behind the Aggies were Baylor (3:10.26) and Oklahoma (3:10.56). A second A&M unit won its section and place fourth overall in 3:11.29 with the crew of Joey Roberts, Ashton Young, Oscar Ramirez and Michael Preble.
Three freshman claimed wins for the Aggies as Prezel Hardy, Jr. set a career best of 6.68 to claim the 60 meters and move to No. 3 on the A&M all-time list. Hardy edged Texas-Arlington Cordero Gray, who clocked 6.69, for first place while Aggie teammate Howell finished third in 6.72 while Baylor's Whitney Prevost placed fourth in 6.73.
"I felt if I got after it, from start to finish, then I should have a good outcome," said Hardy. "Being pretty pleased would be an understatement compared to how I'm feeling right now. It's a personal best for me and everyone can see it's a big improvement for me. I look forward to improving even more."
Ibukun Mayungbe won the 400 in 54.41 and established the No. 5 mark on the Aggie all-time list. Andrea Sutherland joined the all-time list at No. 10 with a 55.23 that placed her third overall while Brittany Machacek placed fourth with a 55.81.
Then Tyler Lee won a jump-off in the high jump, an event that came within six minutes of lasting three hours. Lee cleared a best of 6-10 ¾ and improved to No. 6 on the A&M all-time list.
Lee and Antwain Keyes of Louisiana-Lafayette had first attempt clearances until the bar was raised to 7-0 ¼. Lee went through five heights on first attempt clearances while Keyes passed twice before clearing three heights on first attempts. Both jumpers had three misses at 7-0 ¼, and then a multiple round jump-off followed.
"I wasn't going to give up," said Lee, who totaled 18 attempts in the event. "I wasn't going to let someone take it from me on my home track. It was exciting to have the crowd get into while we were in a jump-off, but it was tiring. It's hard to get motivated at that point."
Other victories for the Aggies came from familiar faces. Gabby Mayo had a successful return to the track with an 8.27 win in the 60 hurdles.
With a prelim and final in the 60 hurdles, Mayo stated: "The first race was a bit shakey, but I had a better final. I'm happy to be back."
Jeneba Tarmoh breezed to a 7.33 first-place sprint in the 60 meters while Jessica Beard ran 23.35 to win the 200 over Tarmoh's 23.44.
"I wanted to run a little faster in the 60, but there is time for that," noted Tarmoh, who defeated Baylor's Tiffany Townsend (7.38) in the 60. "In the 200 I was very pleased. Last season I didn't run this fast until we went to New York in early February."
In the women's 200 the Aggies claimed six of the top nine spots while only the first three finishers counted towards the Big 12 scoring. Other section winners include Ashley Collier (23.90 - 4th overall), Mayo (24.08 - 5th), Chandrell Stephens (24.49 - 7th) and LaKeidra Stewart (24.62 - 9th).
"I just went out there with the idea to have fun with it," said Beard, who also ran 7.52 in the 60 for seventh place. "It gave me a chance to work on my blocks and reaction time. While the 400 is still my primary event I love running the 200."
Gerald Phiri blistered his 200 win in a career indoor best of 20.87, improving his previous best of 21.01 and moving to No. 5 on the A&M all-time list. Phiri managed to withstand the final charge by Baylor's Prevost, who finished second in 20.88, while Arlington's Gray placed third in 21.25.
"My training has changed a bit this year, I'm doing longer stuff in practice," Phiri explained. "Coming into the race I was confident I was going to PR and be under 21 seconds. It's taken me four years, but I'm glad I was finally able to get under 21 indoors."
Hardy won his section of the 200 in 21.50 to finish fifth overall while fellow Aggie frosh Michael Bryan placed ninth overall with a 21.91. Bryan added a seventh place in the 60 final, producing a 6.85.
Michael Preble earned a victory in the 800 as his 1:50.94 became No. 6 on the Aggie all-time list. Oscar Ramirez finished third in the same section as Preble and his 1:52.22 placed third overall.
A clearance of 12-8 ¼ in the pole vault claimed the top spot for Aly Daily as she moved to No. 3 on the all-time list at A&M. Emily Grant placed sixth in the vault and her 11-0 ¼ clearance is No. 10 on the Aggie all-time list.
The women's 4 x 400 posted a winning time of 3:43.38 with a quartet of Stewart, Mayungbe, Machacek and Sutherland. They bettered Oklahoma (3:44.29) and Baylor (3:44.41).
Runner-up efforts for A&M included Wayne Davis II (7.94) in the 60 hurdles and Bryan Miller (47.05) in the 400 with Joey Roberts (47.19 - No. 10 A&M) placing third. Melvin Echard had one jump of 23-4 ¾ for second in the long jump.
Erica Parker challenged for the win in the women's 800 and her career best of 2:11.63 placed second while moving her to No. 5 on the school's all-time list. Kyle Tomasini cleared 15-7 ¾ to finish second in the men's pole vault.
In the women's weight throw Jennifer Edwards neared her career best as a 54-1 placed second. Taylor Rosser did set a personal best in finishing third with a 53-3 ½ mark. Rosser was also third in the shot put with a 46-10 ¼ toss.
Other third place performances by the Aggies included Jordan Chappell (8:49.83) in the 3,000 meters, Casey Strong (56-1 ¾) in the weight throw, and a tie in the pole vault at 15-1 ¾ between teammates Dustin Phillips and Colton Sandman.
The Aggies, No. 2 in the women's preseason rankings with the men No. 3, will host a dual meet with LSU next Saturday. The Tigers men are No. 2 while the women's team is No. 3. The meet will start at 3:30 p.m. at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.