SEC Athlete of the Week honors were awarded to a pair of Aggies this week as Prezel Hardy, Jr. received the men's Runner of the Week and Shamier Little shared the women's Freshman of the Week accolade. Updated USTFCCCA national team computer rankings have the Texas A&M women locked into No. 1 while the Aggie moved up a spot to No. 3.
Texas A&M will compete in the 120th Penn Relay Carnival starting on Thursday and continuing through Saturday at historic Franklin Field. The Aggies won a dozen events in last year's meet, including eight titles on the final day.
This season the Penn Relays will have a live webcast available through Flotrack.com on its Flo Pro subscription service. Live action will broadcast all three days, except for USA vs. The World events which will be broadcast live on NBC Sports during Saturday's portion of the meet from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (CDT).
Hardy ran in four races for the Aggies during the LSU Alumni Gold Invitational, winning the 200 meters in a time of 20.14w, which is the second fastest time in the world for 2014 under all conditions.
While his day also included the first leg of the A&M 4x100 that finished third and placing third among collegians in the 100 meters with a 10.32, Hardy filled in with a 45.5 second leg split when he was needed for the 4x400 relay. The Aggies won the relay in 3:02.64, a season's best, in defeating NCAA Indoor relay champion LSU (3:03.24).
Little ran her first outdoor 400 with A&M and promptly ran her fastest time with a 52.26 that won the race over Arizona's Shapri Romero (52.70) and Tennessee's Felecia Brown (53.56). The time places Little at No. 5 on the Aggie all-time list. She is currently fifth among collegians and second among SEC sprinters.
Already the world junior leader in the 400 hurdles this season Little is also second on the 2014 world junior list in the 400 meters. Little ran on the winning 4x400, splitting 53.5, at the LSU meet as A&M clocked 3:33.38 to cruise ahead of a 3:39.09 from runner-up Louisiana Tech.
While the Aggies remained No. 1 in the women's rankings, there was a change for the men as Oregon moved ahead of Florida for the top position while A&M moved ahead of Arkansas for the No. 3 spot. Following the first four of Oregon, Florida, Texas A&M and Arkansas are Florida State, Georgia, Wisconsin, LSU, Alabama and Texas Tech among the top 10 with six of those schools from the SEC.
The top six women's team kept the same order this week with the Aggies leading Florida, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, Kentucky, Southern California, LSU, Arkansas and Florida State to round out the top 10, which also includes six SEC programs.
USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings
WOMEN
1. Texas A&MÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 383.21
2. Florida                                342.16
3. Texas                                  336.80
4. Oregon                              288.96
5. Georgia                             230.06
6. Kentucky                          205.89
7. Southern California      196.12
8. LSUÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 178.14
9. Arkansas                           169.86
10. Florida State                  157.11
11. Arizona                            147.71
12. Kansas                             131.84
13. UCLAÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 108.90
14. San Diego State           106.50
15. Stanford                         103.39
16. Penn State                     102.50
17. Texas Tech                     100.71
18. Baylor                                 95.15
19. Washington                     90.70
20. Arizona State                  87.77
21. Oklahoma State             84.91
22. Notre Dame                    84.00
23. Missouri                            82.99
24. Maryland                          82.41
25. Mississippi State            79.76
MEN
1. Oregon                              335.91
2. Florida                                319.42
3. Texas A&MÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 296.33
4. Arkansas                           275.74
5. Florida State                    195.62
6. Georgia                             181.05
7. Wisconsin                         181.00
8. LSUÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 157.24
9. Alabama                            157.13
10. Texas Tech                     153.36
11. Mississippi                     152.59
12. Southern California    151.84
13. Baylor                              144.23
14. Nebraska                        135.54
15. Texas                               126.67
16. UCLAÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 122.02
17. BYUÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 120.63
18. Tennessee                     104.30
19. Penn State                     103.76
20. Arizona                              97.07
21. Mississippi State            92.27
22. Oklahoma State             88.21
23. Cornell                               82.30
24. Kentucky                          79.01
25. California                          76.82