Entering their last Big 12 Championship meet with national rankings of No. 2 for the men and No. 6 for the women, Texas A&M seeks to claim another set of team titles to go along with the pair they captured last spring in Norman and earlier this season when the Aggies hosted the Big 12 Indoor meet.
Kansas State serves as host of the Big 12 Outdoor meet at the R.V. Christian Track Complex in Manhattan, Kansas from Friday, May 11, to Sunday, May 13.
Of the five men's Big 12 schools ranked in the top 25, Texas A&M is the highest ranked at No. 2. They are followed by No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 12 Texas, No. 20 Oklahoma and No. 23 Kansas.
The Aggie women are the third highest ranked team among eight women's Big 12 schools in the top 25. Texas is the current No. 1 while Kansas is No. 5. Behind No. 6 Texas A&M are No. 9 Texas Tech, No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 20 Iowa State, No. 22 Baylor and No. 25 Kansas State.
The heptathlon and decathlon opens competition at noon on Friday while finals will be held in the javelin and hammer as well as the 10,000 meters. The multi-events conclude on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m., along with finals in the long jump, shot put and women's pole vault. Prelims in running events on Saturday start at 3 p.m.
Sunday's finals in the field events begin at 1 p.m. while the track finals start at 3 p.m. Tickets are available through the Kansas State ticket office, 800-221-CATS or online at www.kstatesports.com. All-session tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for youths and senior citizens.
The A&M women are five-time defending champions of the Big 12 Outdoor title and have claimed 10 of the past 11 team titles when including the indoor conference meets dating back to the 2007 season. Winning team scores for the Aggie women at the Big 12 Outdoor meet over the past five years include: 146 (2011), 157 (2010), 126.5 (2009), 157 (2008), and 140 (2007).
In winning their first conference outdoor meet since 2001 last season, the A&M men set a conference record for points with a tally of 175 to better the previous best of 172 set by Nebraska in 2004. The Aggies winning margin of 71.5 points also was a Big 12 best, topping the 65.5 the Cornhuskers won by in 2004.
Over the 15-year span of the Big 12 Outdoor Championships the Aggies have won 35 individual titles each among the men and women while the A&M women hold a slight edge with eight relay titles to seven for the Aggie men.
Returning champions for Texas A&M includes Sam Humphreys, two-time defending champion in the javelin, Michael Preble in the 800 as well as all four relay events. Meanwhile, Laura Asimakis is a former champion in the women's javelin having won the 2009 title.
When the Aggies swept the relay events at the 2010 Big 12 Championships it marked the first time that feat had been achieved by one school. Texas A&M recorded winning times of 42.90 and 3:31.28 for the women's relays along with 39.04 and 3:02.38 for the men's relays.
The Aggie women have won the 4 x 100 at the conference meet for five consecutive years, setting the Big 12 record of 42.88 in 2008. Meanwhile, the A&M men have claimed the 4 x 100 three of the past four years, setting the Big 12 record of 38.85 in 2008. In the 4 x 400 relay the Aggies have won the men's and women's titles the past two years.