FAYETTEVILLE – Audie Wyatt equaled his indoor best to claim the Invitational pole vault title during the first day of the Tyson Invitational and became the latest Aggie to attempt 18 feet, 1 inch in an effort to break the Texas A&M indoor school record of 18-0 ½.
Wyatt's winning height measured 17-9, which he cleared on his first attempt after needing three tries at his opening height of 17-5. Among his three vaults at 18-1, the second was the closest to becoming a make.
"My second attempt at 18-1 was the best, but on my third it felt better form-wise," said Wyatt. "I was really consistent today in hitting my marks that I needed to, but the record lives another day."
Finishing in third place with a clearance of 17-5 was Aggie teammate Chase Wolfle. Nick Meyer, a Kansas vaulter who is competing unattached this indoor season, placed second as he matched the 17-9 height that Wyatt cleared, but needed two attempts to get over the bar.
"17-5 was the highest I've ever opened with," stated Wyatt. "I didn't want to come in at 17-0 with everyone else, so I opted to come in at 17-5. It was a close call, but I ended up getting it on my third try.
"The school record will definitely go down at the SEC Championships. I think we're all going to have our best day in the conference meet and hit our marks. We've been preparing for this for a long time. In practice we've been doing really well, now we just need to put it together during a meet and score some points."
A sixth round leap of 20-7 ½ (6.29) moved Jennifer Madu into second place of the long jump as she improved her indoor career best from 20-0 ¼. Madu is now No. 4 on the A&M all-time list with the equal No. 9 performance.
"It's a blessing for sure and it's great to see what I do in practice finally come together on the runway when it matters the most," said Madu. "A lot of it is just me being focused and ready to put it all together. I'm happy that it came together today right before conference."
Madu's first five jumps were all in the 19-foot range with her best effort a 19-11 ½ from round two. Her final round leap had her challenging Florida State's Jogaile Petrokaite (20-9 ¾) for the win as she passed Kentucky's Destiny Carter (20-4 ½) for the runner-up position.
""I had to stay very disciplined today," noted Madu. "I'm up for the challenge though, and glad it came through. It's very important to accomplish it here, because this is where we have the SEC Championships in two weeks. Just to get the feel of the track and the feel of the runway is very important. When we come back for conference everything is comfortable and there is no excuse not to be able to perform."
Facing a pair of post-collegians from Arkansas, Chrishuna Williams and Dominique Scott, in the Invitational 800m, Katie Willard turned in a solid performance after her school record effort a week ago. Willard, who posted the fastest split (30.68) over the final 200m lap, closed strong behind Williams moving from the back of the pack into the runner-up position over the final 100m.
Williams won the race in 2:04.51 as Willard crossed the line in 2:07.15 ahead of Scott's 2:08.34. Aggie frosh Jazmine Fray finished fifth in 2:10.31. Willard's time is the No. 3 performance on the A&M all-time list, trailing only her school record of 2:05.79 and Fray's time of 2:07.05 that were both set last week.
The men's Invitational 800m had another indoor best from Aggie freshman JaQwae Ellison as he posted a 1:49.60 for second place behind the 1:48.79 by Texas Tech's Charles Jones and just ahead of Clemson's John Lewis (1:49.64). Ellison improved upon his best of 1:50.44 he ran at Gilliam last weekend and moved to No. 7 on the A&M all-time list.
The Invitational sections of the men's 400 meters had a bit of bumping in a couple of races. Marqueze Washington of Arkansas posted the top time of 45.84, but a disqualification for impeding nullified the mark. The top time then went to current collegiate leader Michael Cherry of LSU with a 46.25 that was matched by Tennessee's Nathan Strother in the same section.
A&M's Fred Kerley led his 400m section through the 200m mark at 21.47 from lane 3, but twice he had to endure Florida's Najee Glass trying to pass on the inside. As Kerley led the section of four runners off the final turn, Glass clipped him from behind. Baylor's George Caddick crossed the line first in 46.67, but was later disqualified for a lane violation. Kerley ran 47.27 to place 13th overall while Glass clocked 47.96 to finish 18th.
Shamier Little and Briyahna Desrosiers ran in the same section of the women's Invitational 400m and it was Desrosiers leading the pack of four through the first lap with a split of 24.05 with Little second in 24.17. Little had the lead coming off the final turn as Florida's Kyra Jefferson challenged for the win.
Jefferson finished in 52.19 as Little was runner-up in 52.43 while Desrosiers ran 53.90 for fourth place. Overall, Little placed fifth among the five sections with Desrosiers finishing 17th.
Taylor Ellis-Watson of Arkansas claimed the top time on the day with a 52.18 as Jefferson finished second overall with Gator teammates Robin Reynolds (52.27) and Claudia Francis (52.39) taking the third and fourth positions.
Devin Jenkins advanced to the final of the 60 meters, where he placed sixth with a 6.72. A time of 6.55 had Tennessee's Christian Coleman claiming the victory over a 6.58 from Ronnie Baker of TCU. Jenkins recorded times of 6.74 and 6.72 in the prelims and semifinal to reach the final.
Aaliyah Brown and Madu both ran 7.42 in the prelims of the women's 60m, with Brown advancing to the semifinal based on a 0.001 edge over Madu. In the semifinal Brown finished fourth in her section with a 7.38.
In the women's Invitational mile a 4:55.12 season best from A&M's Katie Watson earned her runner-up honors behind a 4:53.01 from Micah Huckabee, of Arkansas, who competed unattached. Watson moves to No. 8 on the Aggie all-time list. A&M's Arin Rice clocked 4:58.05 in fourth place behind a 4:57.32 by Stephanie Vanpelt of St. John's.
Alex Riba placed third in the men's Invitational mile with a 4:08.87 as he finished behind Missouri's Will Crocker (4:06.22) and Lou Styles of Kentucky (4:08.18). The field included a total of three Aggies as Ryan Teel placed fifth in 4:10.38 and Nathan Ricketts finished eighth with a 4:11.84.
Running in the first section of the 800m, Efrain Hernandez led the field through 600m. Texas Tech's Vincent Crisp claimed the section win in 1:50.64 as Hernandez placed second with a 1:50.93, just off the indoor PR of 1:50.36 he set last week. Gaines Kinsey finished fourth in the race with a 1:52.22 behind Clemson's Cameron Thornton (1:51.26) and placed fifth overall among the four sections contested.
A clearance of 17-1 matched the season best by Carl Johansson as he finished third in the other pole vault section held at Tyson behind a 17-5 by Craig Driver of Nebraska and 17-1 from Missouri's Matthew Ludwig. Johansson had one more miss than Ludwig at the opening height of 16-1 ¼ to separate them as they both cleared 16-7 ¼ on a first attempt and 17-1 on the second try.
The Aggies weight throw crew was led by a season best of 61-1 ½ (18.63) from Alison Ondrusek as she placed sixth in the competitive field and was just two inches off her career best. Ondrusek was the second best thrower from SEC, behind third place Beckie Famurewa of Kentucky (65-10 ¼), in the field of 25 throwers.
Shelbi Vaughan placed eighth in the weight throw with a mark of 60-4 ½ (18.40) while an off day for Carissa van Beek resulted in only one legal mark of 51-7 ¾ (15.74).
Will Williams was limited to a pair of jumps in the Invitational long jump as his best effort measured 24-5 ½ (7.58) to place seventh. He passed his final four attempts.
Deon Hickey posted a section win in the 400m with a season best of 47.32 that placed him seventh overall amid the field of 42 in the event. Finishing behind Hickey were TCU's Joshua Washington (47.74) and Baylor's Isaiah Duke (47.79). A&M newcomer Eric Age ran 48.93 in another section, which included a bit of bumping on a couple of occasions, as he placed third in the race and 28th overall.
Jarra Owens recorded another indoor best in the women's 400m with a 55.22 to win her section and placed 18th among a field of 48 in the earlier section of the event. Ebony Crear also won her section in 55.95 to finish 28th overall.
Wyatt's winning height measured 17-9, which he cleared on his first attempt after needing three tries at his opening height of 17-5. Among his three vaults at 18-1, the second was the closest to becoming a make.
"My second attempt at 18-1 was the best, but on my third it felt better form-wise," said Wyatt. "I was really consistent today in hitting my marks that I needed to, but the record lives another day."
Finishing in third place with a clearance of 17-5 was Aggie teammate Chase Wolfle. Nick Meyer, a Kansas vaulter who is competing unattached this indoor season, placed second as he matched the 17-9 height that Wyatt cleared, but needed two attempts to get over the bar.
"17-5 was the highest I've ever opened with," stated Wyatt. "I didn't want to come in at 17-0 with everyone else, so I opted to come in at 17-5. It was a close call, but I ended up getting it on my third try.
"The school record will definitely go down at the SEC Championships. I think we're all going to have our best day in the conference meet and hit our marks. We've been preparing for this for a long time. In practice we've been doing really well, now we just need to put it together during a meet and score some points."
A sixth round leap of 20-7 ½ (6.29) moved Jennifer Madu into second place of the long jump as she improved her indoor career best from 20-0 ¼. Madu is now No. 4 on the A&M all-time list with the equal No. 9 performance.
"It's a blessing for sure and it's great to see what I do in practice finally come together on the runway when it matters the most," said Madu. "A lot of it is just me being focused and ready to put it all together. I'm happy that it came together today right before conference."
Madu's first five jumps were all in the 19-foot range with her best effort a 19-11 ½ from round two. Her final round leap had her challenging Florida State's Jogaile Petrokaite (20-9 ¾) for the win as she passed Kentucky's Destiny Carter (20-4 ½) for the runner-up position.
""I had to stay very disciplined today," noted Madu. "I'm up for the challenge though, and glad it came through. It's very important to accomplish it here, because this is where we have the SEC Championships in two weeks. Just to get the feel of the track and the feel of the runway is very important. When we come back for conference everything is comfortable and there is no excuse not to be able to perform."
Facing a pair of post-collegians from Arkansas, Chrishuna Williams and Dominique Scott, in the Invitational 800m, Katie Willard turned in a solid performance after her school record effort a week ago. Willard, who posted the fastest split (30.68) over the final 200m lap, closed strong behind Williams moving from the back of the pack into the runner-up position over the final 100m.
Williams won the race in 2:04.51 as Willard crossed the line in 2:07.15 ahead of Scott's 2:08.34. Aggie frosh Jazmine Fray finished fifth in 2:10.31. Willard's time is the No. 3 performance on the A&M all-time list, trailing only her school record of 2:05.79 and Fray's time of 2:07.05 that were both set last week.
The men's Invitational 800m had another indoor best from Aggie freshman JaQwae Ellison as he posted a 1:49.60 for second place behind the 1:48.79 by Texas Tech's Charles Jones and just ahead of Clemson's John Lewis (1:49.64). Ellison improved upon his best of 1:50.44 he ran at Gilliam last weekend and moved to No. 7 on the A&M all-time list.
The Invitational sections of the men's 400 meters had a bit of bumping in a couple of races. Marqueze Washington of Arkansas posted the top time of 45.84, but a disqualification for impeding nullified the mark. The top time then went to current collegiate leader Michael Cherry of LSU with a 46.25 that was matched by Tennessee's Nathan Strother in the same section.
A&M's Fred Kerley led his 400m section through the 200m mark at 21.47 from lane 3, but twice he had to endure Florida's Najee Glass trying to pass on the inside. As Kerley led the section of four runners off the final turn, Glass clipped him from behind. Baylor's George Caddick crossed the line first in 46.67, but was later disqualified for a lane violation. Kerley ran 47.27 to place 13th overall while Glass clocked 47.96 to finish 18th.
Shamier Little and Briyahna Desrosiers ran in the same section of the women's Invitational 400m and it was Desrosiers leading the pack of four through the first lap with a split of 24.05 with Little second in 24.17. Little had the lead coming off the final turn as Florida's Kyra Jefferson challenged for the win.
Jefferson finished in 52.19 as Little was runner-up in 52.43 while Desrosiers ran 53.90 for fourth place. Overall, Little placed fifth among the five sections with Desrosiers finishing 17th.
Taylor Ellis-Watson of Arkansas claimed the top time on the day with a 52.18 as Jefferson finished second overall with Gator teammates Robin Reynolds (52.27) and Claudia Francis (52.39) taking the third and fourth positions.
Devin Jenkins advanced to the final of the 60 meters, where he placed sixth with a 6.72. A time of 6.55 had Tennessee's Christian Coleman claiming the victory over a 6.58 from Ronnie Baker of TCU. Jenkins recorded times of 6.74 and 6.72 in the prelims and semifinal to reach the final.
Aaliyah Brown and Madu both ran 7.42 in the prelims of the women's 60m, with Brown advancing to the semifinal based on a 0.001 edge over Madu. In the semifinal Brown finished fourth in her section with a 7.38.
In the women's Invitational mile a 4:55.12 season best from A&M's Katie Watson earned her runner-up honors behind a 4:53.01 from Micah Huckabee, of Arkansas, who competed unattached. Watson moves to No. 8 on the Aggie all-time list. A&M's Arin Rice clocked 4:58.05 in fourth place behind a 4:57.32 by Stephanie Vanpelt of St. John's.
Alex Riba placed third in the men's Invitational mile with a 4:08.87 as he finished behind Missouri's Will Crocker (4:06.22) and Lou Styles of Kentucky (4:08.18). The field included a total of three Aggies as Ryan Teel placed fifth in 4:10.38 and Nathan Ricketts finished eighth with a 4:11.84.
Running in the first section of the 800m, Efrain Hernandez led the field through 600m. Texas Tech's Vincent Crisp claimed the section win in 1:50.64 as Hernandez placed second with a 1:50.93, just off the indoor PR of 1:50.36 he set last week. Gaines Kinsey finished fourth in the race with a 1:52.22 behind Clemson's Cameron Thornton (1:51.26) and placed fifth overall among the four sections contested.
A clearance of 17-1 matched the season best by Carl Johansson as he finished third in the other pole vault section held at Tyson behind a 17-5 by Craig Driver of Nebraska and 17-1 from Missouri's Matthew Ludwig. Johansson had one more miss than Ludwig at the opening height of 16-1 ¼ to separate them as they both cleared 16-7 ¼ on a first attempt and 17-1 on the second try.
The Aggies weight throw crew was led by a season best of 61-1 ½ (18.63) from Alison Ondrusek as she placed sixth in the competitive field and was just two inches off her career best. Ondrusek was the second best thrower from SEC, behind third place Beckie Famurewa of Kentucky (65-10 ¼), in the field of 25 throwers.
Shelbi Vaughan placed eighth in the weight throw with a mark of 60-4 ½ (18.40) while an off day for Carissa van Beek resulted in only one legal mark of 51-7 ¾ (15.74).
Will Williams was limited to a pair of jumps in the Invitational long jump as his best effort measured 24-5 ½ (7.58) to place seventh. He passed his final four attempts.
Deon Hickey posted a section win in the 400m with a season best of 47.32 that placed him seventh overall amid the field of 42 in the event. Finishing behind Hickey were TCU's Joshua Washington (47.74) and Baylor's Isaiah Duke (47.79). A&M newcomer Eric Age ran 48.93 in another section, which included a bit of bumping on a couple of occasions, as he placed third in the race and 28th overall.
Jarra Owens recorded another indoor best in the women's 400m with a 55.22 to win her section and placed 18th among a field of 48 in the earlier section of the event. Ebony Crear also won her section in 55.95 to finish 28th overall.