Over the past five seasons the Aggies have finished fifth or higher each year in this high-caliber meet, which includes three team titles for the A&M women (2007, 2009, 2010) and one for the Aggie men (2010). Last season the men placed second while the women were third.
"There are a lot of teams in this meet and any time Texas A&M is involved in a meet there are expectations for us to do well," said Aggie head coach Pat Henry. "Our athletes always tend to step it up a notch as well. We try to keep each week in perspective. Last week was a very competitive meet at home for us, but it was still just one step up. Now this meet is just one more step up of learning about other things you need to be able to do as a great athlete.
"This meet teaches young athletes to grow up. This puts them in a situation where they get to grow up a bit, where they have to be an adult and make great decisions for themselves."
Coverage of the meet will be available through a webcast on Friday and Saturday via ArmoryTrack.com. The webcast starts at 1:30 p.m. (Central) on Friday with the women's 5,000 meters. There are two segments on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and then noon to 5 p.m. Updates on the Aggies competing will also be available on twitter at @aggietrk.
Texas A&M will face Big 12 foes in Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech. SEC teams entered include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Other national caliber squads include Central Florida, Clemson, Connecticut, Duke, Georgetown, Houston, Iowa, North Carolina, Penn, Pittsburgh, Princeton, USC, and Syracuse.
"You don't just get on a bus and go to the competition, then get on the bus, go eat and go home," noted Henry. "This is a place where transportation to the meet site means getting on the subway, knowing what station to go to, knowing when to eat your meals based on when you compete and what time you need to warm up for your event.
"When we go to the Big 12 Championships or NCAA Championships, if you're not a mature person in controlling your diet and understanding your rest, then you'll never be successful at those meets."
Texas A&M will travel with a squad of 54 athletes to the meet. Friday's competition for the Aggies will begin at 10:30 a.m. and wrap up around 8 p.m. that evening. On Saturday, A&M will start at 9:15 a.m. and conclude around 6 p.m.
Highlights on day one of the meet will include Natosha Rogers and Katherine Delvin running the 5,000 for the first time this season. Rogers has established school records in each race she has contested this indoor season, which includes the mile twice, the distance medley relay and the 3,000 meters. Kevin Burnett and James Hodges will contest the men's 5,000.
Prelims and finals will be held in the 60 meter and 60 hurdles. Wayne Davis II will compete in the men's hurdles while Donique' Flemings and Annie Kunz represent A&M in the women's hurdles.
Running in the 60 meters for the Aggie men are Prezel Hardy, Jr., Jonathan Turner and Ameer Webb. A&M women include Ashley Collier, Dominique Duncan, Olivia Ekpone and LaKeidra Stewart.
In the men's distance medley relay the Aggies will shoot for the NCAA automatic qualifier of 9:31.00 with a foursome of James Bonn, Michael Preble, Joey Roberts and Henry Lelei. This past weekend Bonn posted a 1:50.30 in the 800 while Preble clocked 1:08.56 over 600 yards, and Roberts ran a world-leading 1:47.14. Henry clocked a 4:04.66 mile two weeks ago.
The A&M pole vault tandem of Laura Asimakis and Aly Daily are in the Championship division among a field of 19 elite vaulters, which includes collegiate record holder Tina Sutej of Arkansas.
Asimakis has raised the indoor school record to 13-11 and will have family on hand from Connecticut to see if this is the weekend she gets over the 14-foot barrier. The opening height is 12-9.5 (3.90) and the progression includes the 14-1.5 (4.30) height Asimakis attempted this past weekend.
The Aggie throw's crew will face deep fields within both the shot put and weight throw at this meet.
On Saturday Ricky Babineaux and Michael Bryan contest the men's 200 as Deon Lendore">Deon Lendore and Josh McKinney run in the men's 400. The A&M women competing in the 60 will add the 200 on the second day of the meet while Kamaria Brown and Ibukun Mayungbe challenge the women's 400 field.
Lelei, the school record holder in the 3,000 after an 8:01.01 runner-up race last weekend, takes another shot at the Aggie mile record (4:04.16) he missed by half a second two weeks ago.
The crew of Aliese Hyde, Tiffany Singleton, Jillian Anderson and Hillary Hagan takes on the 4 x 800 for the Aggies, while both 4 x 400 squads seek a NCAA auto qualifier in their respective races.
USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings
Texas A&M remains in the same position this week among the national rankings, No. 9 in the men's rankings and No. 11 among the women.
Men: 1. Arkansas, 2. Florida, 3. LSU, 4. Texas, 5. Arizona, 6. Florida State, 7. Stanford, 8. Minnesota, 9. Texas A&M, 10. Indiana, 11. Nebraska, 12. Oklahoma, 13. Virginia Tech, 14. BYU, 15. Ohio State, 16. Kansas State, 17. Mississippi, 18. Mississippi State, 19. Iowa, 20. Oregon, 21. Wisconsin, 22. Georgia, 23. Iona, 24. Northern Arizona, 25. Auburn.
Women: 1. Oregon, 2. LSU, 3. Arkansas, 4. Clemson, 5. Central Florida, 6. Texas, 7. BYU, 8. Texas Tech, 9. Florida State, 10. Arizona, 11. Texas A&M, 12. Iowa State, 13. Southern Mississippi, 14. Baylor, 15. Ohio State, 16. Southern Illinois, 17. Arizona State, 18. Tennessee, 19. Georgia, 20. Oklahoma, 21. Stanford, 22. Stony Brook, 23. Michigan, 24. Connecticut, 25. Villanova.
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