FAYETTEVILLE – Sophomore Audie Wyatt won the SEC Indoor title in the pole vault and broke the A&M school record in the process by clearing 18 feet, 1 inch. It led an Aggie scoring spree of 23.33 points as A&M finished first, second, fourth and was part of three-way tie for eighth place.
"We came in here expecting to get more than the 15 we scored at SEC Indoor last season," said Wyatt. "If we got above 20 that would be amazing. We accomplished that goal and it was a great day for the Aggie vaulters."
Through the first day of the SEC Indoor Championships, which had a crowd of 2,357 fans inside Randal Tyson Track Center, the men's team scoring leader is Arkansas with 42 points ahead of 34.83 for Texas A&M and 27.5 for Mississippi, who scored 24 points with a 1-2-3 finish in the men's 3,000m.
Women's team scoring has Georgia in the lead with 25 points followed by Arkansas at 22 and Tennessee with 18. The Aggie women currently have seven points.
The previous indoor pole vault school record of 18-0 ½ (5.50) was shared by three Aggies – Greg West (1990), Richard McDonald (1998) and Chase Wolfle (2015). Wyatt opened at 16-10 ¾, then needed three attempts to get over 17-4 ½. First attempt clearances followed at 17-9 ½ and 18-1.
Wolfle finished runner-up in the competition with a 17-9 ¾ (5.30) clearance and he also had three attempts at improving his school record at the 18-1 (5.51) height. Jacob Wooten placed fourth (17-4 ½) while teammate Carl Johansson (16-4 ¾) was in a three-way tie for eighth and earned 0.33 of a point.
"I've been waiting to get that record for a long time," stated Wyatt. "It was great having these guys push me. I don't know if I would have gotten 18-1 without Chase and Jacob on my tail all the time. I was a bit scared taking a third attempt early at 16-10, but after I cleared it I knew from then on I could keep it going."
Wolfle added: "It was good to see Audie break the record. He's been working hard and deserves it. It'll be a good show in two weeks at the NCAA Indoor to see if he can retain it for the rest of the year. It was good that I was able to get some quality jumps at 18-plus for the first time this season."
Collegiate pole vault leader Jake Blankenship of Tennessee placed third (17-4 ½) as he passed after one miss at 17-9 ¾. After clearing 18-9 ¼ on February 5th, Blankenship skipped the Tyson Invitational held at this venue two weeks ago to recover from a groin injury.
When he cleared 18-1 to break the Aggie school record Wyatt opted to move the bar to 18-6 ½ (5.65), which the standard to qualify for the Olympic Trials this summer. After two misses, Wyatt came very close to getting over the 18-6 ½ height on his third attempt.
"Before we went to 18-1 Jake scratched out of the competition," noted Wyatt. "Then I knew Chase and I were first and second no matter what. I knew it was time to have fun. I was so excited to finally clear 18-1. But once I knew I won the event, I wanted to try the Olympic Trials qualifying standard. I almost had it, but it wasn't my day today."
In another pair of men's field events A&M added 11.5 more points with Will Williams (24-10 ½) placing third in the long jump while Sam McSwain (6-11 ½) finished fourth in the high just as Garrett Cragin (6-7 ½) tied for eighth. This was the third consecutive year for McSwain to score in the high jump at the SEC Indoor after tying for eighth in 2014 and placing seventh in 2015.
Annie Kunz scored 4,277 points to place third in the pentathlon behind Georgia's Kendall Williams (4,420) and Taliyah Brooks of Arkansas (4,376). It was the second best score in A&M history following the school record of 4,364 Kunz set earlier this month. Kunz also finished fifth in the SEC pentathlon back in 2013 and was ninth in 2014. Teammate Shaina Burns placed 11th with a score of 3,613 points.
"It definitely wasn't my cleanest pentathlon," noted Kunz. "Coming into the SEC meet, after setting the school record, I was hoping to be consistent. In the long jump I felt my hamstring pull a little bit today, so I know there can be some improvement there.
"This was one of the first SEC meets where I knew I would be competitive and have a chance to finish in the top three. Going into the NCAAs I just want to be healthy and perform the way I know I can and things will fall into place."
Kunz opened with 1,015 points off an 8.51 in the 60m hurdles and added 916 points with a 5-8 ¾ high jump clearance. Burns and Kunz went 1-2 in the shot put portion of the pentathlon with marks of 43-8 ½ (749 points) and 42-8 ¼ (728 points). A 19-3 ½ long jump by Kunz added 813 points and she finished with a 2:21.34 (805 points) to maintain third place over Leigha Brown of Arkansas (4,207).
Lindon Victor holds the first day lead in the heptathlon with a score of 3,424 points, which is the top mark ever in the SEC as he bettered the first day tally of 3,421 set by Tennessee's Jangy Addy in 2008.
The first heptathlon contested at the SEC Indoor Championships was held in 2004 and on only three occasions the first day leader didn't go on to claim the overall title, the last time occurring in 2010.
Trailing Victor is two-time SEC heptathlon champion Garrett Scantling of Georgia (3,402) along with Kentucky's Ibn Short (3,259), Karl Salui of Georgia (3,177) and Devon Williams of Georgia (3,166). Scantling won SEC heptathlon titles in 2013 (5,889) and 2015 (6,036 SEC record).
"Today went well, there are some things I still need to improve, but it was good score overall," said Victor. "The shot put was one of my stronger events coming into Texas A&M, so I've been wanting to get over 50 feet. I had a 51-4 ½ today, but I also fouled another big one, so I still need to work on some things. The long jump came together today and I knew it was going to come."
Victor set the Texas A&M school record with a 5,646 score earlier this month in which his first day total was 3,248. Victor also has the Grenada national record of 5,771 set by his brother Kurt Felix in 2012 on his radar.
"I would love to get past that mark, and my brother wants me to break it," noted Victor. "But if it doesn't happen tomorrow I know I'll have another chance at the NCAA Indoor."
Nathan Hite is currently in the final scoring position for the Aggies with a tally of 2,991 points in eighth place. Daniel Martin, who can close strong with the 1,000m to complete the heptathlon on Saturday, is currently in 11th place with 2,777 points.
Victor scored 886 points each in the first two events as he clocked 6.99 in the 60 meters and long jumped 23-11 ½ (7.30). He took over the scoring lead with a 51-4 ½ (15.66) effort in the shot put, which scored 830 points. A clearance of 6-7 ½ (2.02) in the high jump added 822 points to Victor's total to wrap up the first day of the heptathlon. The event continues Saturday with the 60 hurdles, pole vault and 1,000m.
Jennifer Madu hit the mark of 20-2 ¼ twice in the long jump as she finished eighth. The Aggies had a pair of ninth-place efforts in the shot put as Jeff Bartlett (55-11) and Shelbi Vaughan (45-5) both placed in that position. The women's shot put also included Celine Markert (44-11) in 11th and Burns (44-2) in 13th place.
Austin Wells finished 10th in the men's 3,000m final with a time of 8:22.94 and Latario Collie (23-3 ½) was 12th in the long jump.
QUALIFYING RACES
Texas A&M advanced 10 athletes to Saturday finals from prelim races on Friday, including four in the 800 meters.
Donavan Brazier and Hector Hernandez went 1-2 in the same 800m prelim with times of 1:46.74 and 1:46.79 that was just shy of the SEC meet record of 1:46.28 set in 1990 by Florida's Mark Everett. A third Aggie in the race was JaQwae Ellison, who clocked 1:49.67 for seventh and was just off his indoor best of 1:49.60. Efrain Hernandez matched his career best of 1:50.36 to place fifth in another section.
Brazier's time is the second fastest in A&M history behind the school record and U.S. junior record of 1:45.93 he set in January. Hernandez improved his previous indoor best of 1:48.02 in moving to No. 2 on the Aggie all-time list with the No. 3 performance.
The women's 800m had prelim wins by Jazmine Fray and Katie Willard. Fray posted the top time with a 2:07.28 that is the No. 5 performance at A&M, where she has an indoor best of 2:07.05. Willard claimed her section in 2:08.57, which is the No. 7 performance on the Aggie all-time list. Willard set a school record of 2:05.79 a couple of weeks ago.
Jennifer Madu posted a 7.26 to win her prelim heat of the 60m, just off her career best of 7.25. Madu's time was third best in the prelims, trailing a 7.23 by Felicia Brown of Tennessee and 7.24 from Florida's Shayla Sanders.
Aaliyah Brown joined Madu in the final as the final time qualifier with a 7.37 that placed her third in her prelim and eighth overall. Krystal Sparling clocked 7.40 for third in another prelim to rank 11th overall. Diamond Spaulding (7.46) and Brenessa Thompson (7.49) finished fifth and sixth in separate heats.
Spaulding advanced to the final of the women's 200m with an indoor best of 23.22 that places her No. 10 on the A&M all-time list. She is the lone freshman in the final with four juniors and three seniors. Brown posted a 23.60 that ranked 12th overall while Sparling turned in a 23.61 which ranked 14th.
Eric Age clocked 46.50 to reach the 400m final as he moved to No. 11 on the Aggie all-time list. Age was third in his section, which included Florida's Najee Glass (46.11) and Obi Igbokwe of Arkansas (46.29). Fred Kerley ran 47.24 as runner-up in another section and placed 14th overall.
Defending champion Shamier Little advanced in the women's 400m with a 52.95 section win. The leading time from the prelims was a 52.60 by South Carolina freshman Aliyah Abrams. Aggie Briyahna Desrosiers ran 53.71 as runner-up in another section and placed 13th.
Alex Riba snared the final time qualifier in the mile with an indoor career best of 4:07.60. He finished fourth in his section behind three Mississippi runners and was 10th overall. Ryan Teel (4:12.15) and Cameron Villarreal (4:12.78) were both ninth in separate heats of the mile as they finished 16th and 18th overall.
Devin Jenkins finished fourth in his section of the 60m with a 6.79 that placed him 13th overall with the top eight advancing to the final. In the 200m Jenkins won his section, but his time of 21.15 ranked 12th. Ebony Crear ran 8.63 in the 60m hurdles, placing eighth in her prelim.
In the women's mile Arin Rice clocked a best of 4:53.57, moving to No. 8 on the A&M all-time list, as she finished ninth in her section and 15th overall. The other section of the mile had Laura Craig running 5:00.29 in ninth place with Katie Watson 11th with a 5:06.81.
"We came in here expecting to get more than the 15 we scored at SEC Indoor last season," said Wyatt. "If we got above 20 that would be amazing. We accomplished that goal and it was a great day for the Aggie vaulters."
Through the first day of the SEC Indoor Championships, which had a crowd of 2,357 fans inside Randal Tyson Track Center, the men's team scoring leader is Arkansas with 42 points ahead of 34.83 for Texas A&M and 27.5 for Mississippi, who scored 24 points with a 1-2-3 finish in the men's 3,000m.
Women's team scoring has Georgia in the lead with 25 points followed by Arkansas at 22 and Tennessee with 18. The Aggie women currently have seven points.
The previous indoor pole vault school record of 18-0 ½ (5.50) was shared by three Aggies – Greg West (1990), Richard McDonald (1998) and Chase Wolfle (2015). Wyatt opened at 16-10 ¾, then needed three attempts to get over 17-4 ½. First attempt clearances followed at 17-9 ½ and 18-1.
Wolfle finished runner-up in the competition with a 17-9 ¾ (5.30) clearance and he also had three attempts at improving his school record at the 18-1 (5.51) height. Jacob Wooten placed fourth (17-4 ½) while teammate Carl Johansson (16-4 ¾) was in a three-way tie for eighth and earned 0.33 of a point.
"I've been waiting to get that record for a long time," stated Wyatt. "It was great having these guys push me. I don't know if I would have gotten 18-1 without Chase and Jacob on my tail all the time. I was a bit scared taking a third attempt early at 16-10, but after I cleared it I knew from then on I could keep it going."
Wolfle added: "It was good to see Audie break the record. He's been working hard and deserves it. It'll be a good show in two weeks at the NCAA Indoor to see if he can retain it for the rest of the year. It was good that I was able to get some quality jumps at 18-plus for the first time this season."
Collegiate pole vault leader Jake Blankenship of Tennessee placed third (17-4 ½) as he passed after one miss at 17-9 ¾. After clearing 18-9 ¼ on February 5th, Blankenship skipped the Tyson Invitational held at this venue two weeks ago to recover from a groin injury.
When he cleared 18-1 to break the Aggie school record Wyatt opted to move the bar to 18-6 ½ (5.65), which the standard to qualify for the Olympic Trials this summer. After two misses, Wyatt came very close to getting over the 18-6 ½ height on his third attempt.
"Before we went to 18-1 Jake scratched out of the competition," noted Wyatt. "Then I knew Chase and I were first and second no matter what. I knew it was time to have fun. I was so excited to finally clear 18-1. But once I knew I won the event, I wanted to try the Olympic Trials qualifying standard. I almost had it, but it wasn't my day today."
In another pair of men's field events A&M added 11.5 more points with Will Williams (24-10 ½) placing third in the long jump while Sam McSwain (6-11 ½) finished fourth in the high just as Garrett Cragin (6-7 ½) tied for eighth. This was the third consecutive year for McSwain to score in the high jump at the SEC Indoor after tying for eighth in 2014 and placing seventh in 2015.
Annie Kunz scored 4,277 points to place third in the pentathlon behind Georgia's Kendall Williams (4,420) and Taliyah Brooks of Arkansas (4,376). It was the second best score in A&M history following the school record of 4,364 Kunz set earlier this month. Kunz also finished fifth in the SEC pentathlon back in 2013 and was ninth in 2014. Teammate Shaina Burns placed 11th with a score of 3,613 points.
"It definitely wasn't my cleanest pentathlon," noted Kunz. "Coming into the SEC meet, after setting the school record, I was hoping to be consistent. In the long jump I felt my hamstring pull a little bit today, so I know there can be some improvement there.
"This was one of the first SEC meets where I knew I would be competitive and have a chance to finish in the top three. Going into the NCAAs I just want to be healthy and perform the way I know I can and things will fall into place."
Kunz opened with 1,015 points off an 8.51 in the 60m hurdles and added 916 points with a 5-8 ¾ high jump clearance. Burns and Kunz went 1-2 in the shot put portion of the pentathlon with marks of 43-8 ½ (749 points) and 42-8 ¼ (728 points). A 19-3 ½ long jump by Kunz added 813 points and she finished with a 2:21.34 (805 points) to maintain third place over Leigha Brown of Arkansas (4,207).
Lindon Victor holds the first day lead in the heptathlon with a score of 3,424 points, which is the top mark ever in the SEC as he bettered the first day tally of 3,421 set by Tennessee's Jangy Addy in 2008.
The first heptathlon contested at the SEC Indoor Championships was held in 2004 and on only three occasions the first day leader didn't go on to claim the overall title, the last time occurring in 2010.
Trailing Victor is two-time SEC heptathlon champion Garrett Scantling of Georgia (3,402) along with Kentucky's Ibn Short (3,259), Karl Salui of Georgia (3,177) and Devon Williams of Georgia (3,166). Scantling won SEC heptathlon titles in 2013 (5,889) and 2015 (6,036 SEC record).
"Today went well, there are some things I still need to improve, but it was good score overall," said Victor. "The shot put was one of my stronger events coming into Texas A&M, so I've been wanting to get over 50 feet. I had a 51-4 ½ today, but I also fouled another big one, so I still need to work on some things. The long jump came together today and I knew it was going to come."
Victor set the Texas A&M school record with a 5,646 score earlier this month in which his first day total was 3,248. Victor also has the Grenada national record of 5,771 set by his brother Kurt Felix in 2012 on his radar.
"I would love to get past that mark, and my brother wants me to break it," noted Victor. "But if it doesn't happen tomorrow I know I'll have another chance at the NCAA Indoor."
Nathan Hite is currently in the final scoring position for the Aggies with a tally of 2,991 points in eighth place. Daniel Martin, who can close strong with the 1,000m to complete the heptathlon on Saturday, is currently in 11th place with 2,777 points.
Victor scored 886 points each in the first two events as he clocked 6.99 in the 60 meters and long jumped 23-11 ½ (7.30). He took over the scoring lead with a 51-4 ½ (15.66) effort in the shot put, which scored 830 points. A clearance of 6-7 ½ (2.02) in the high jump added 822 points to Victor's total to wrap up the first day of the heptathlon. The event continues Saturday with the 60 hurdles, pole vault and 1,000m.
Jennifer Madu hit the mark of 20-2 ¼ twice in the long jump as she finished eighth. The Aggies had a pair of ninth-place efforts in the shot put as Jeff Bartlett (55-11) and Shelbi Vaughan (45-5) both placed in that position. The women's shot put also included Celine Markert (44-11) in 11th and Burns (44-2) in 13th place.
Austin Wells finished 10th in the men's 3,000m final with a time of 8:22.94 and Latario Collie (23-3 ½) was 12th in the long jump.
QUALIFYING RACES
Texas A&M advanced 10 athletes to Saturday finals from prelim races on Friday, including four in the 800 meters.
Donavan Brazier and Hector Hernandez went 1-2 in the same 800m prelim with times of 1:46.74 and 1:46.79 that was just shy of the SEC meet record of 1:46.28 set in 1990 by Florida's Mark Everett. A third Aggie in the race was JaQwae Ellison, who clocked 1:49.67 for seventh and was just off his indoor best of 1:49.60. Efrain Hernandez matched his career best of 1:50.36 to place fifth in another section.
Brazier's time is the second fastest in A&M history behind the school record and U.S. junior record of 1:45.93 he set in January. Hernandez improved his previous indoor best of 1:48.02 in moving to No. 2 on the Aggie all-time list with the No. 3 performance.
The women's 800m had prelim wins by Jazmine Fray and Katie Willard. Fray posted the top time with a 2:07.28 that is the No. 5 performance at A&M, where she has an indoor best of 2:07.05. Willard claimed her section in 2:08.57, which is the No. 7 performance on the Aggie all-time list. Willard set a school record of 2:05.79 a couple of weeks ago.
Jennifer Madu posted a 7.26 to win her prelim heat of the 60m, just off her career best of 7.25. Madu's time was third best in the prelims, trailing a 7.23 by Felicia Brown of Tennessee and 7.24 from Florida's Shayla Sanders.
Aaliyah Brown joined Madu in the final as the final time qualifier with a 7.37 that placed her third in her prelim and eighth overall. Krystal Sparling clocked 7.40 for third in another prelim to rank 11th overall. Diamond Spaulding (7.46) and Brenessa Thompson (7.49) finished fifth and sixth in separate heats.
Spaulding advanced to the final of the women's 200m with an indoor best of 23.22 that places her No. 10 on the A&M all-time list. She is the lone freshman in the final with four juniors and three seniors. Brown posted a 23.60 that ranked 12th overall while Sparling turned in a 23.61 which ranked 14th.
Eric Age clocked 46.50 to reach the 400m final as he moved to No. 11 on the Aggie all-time list. Age was third in his section, which included Florida's Najee Glass (46.11) and Obi Igbokwe of Arkansas (46.29). Fred Kerley ran 47.24 as runner-up in another section and placed 14th overall.
Defending champion Shamier Little advanced in the women's 400m with a 52.95 section win. The leading time from the prelims was a 52.60 by South Carolina freshman Aliyah Abrams. Aggie Briyahna Desrosiers ran 53.71 as runner-up in another section and placed 13th.
Alex Riba snared the final time qualifier in the mile with an indoor career best of 4:07.60. He finished fourth in his section behind three Mississippi runners and was 10th overall. Ryan Teel (4:12.15) and Cameron Villarreal (4:12.78) were both ninth in separate heats of the mile as they finished 16th and 18th overall.
Devin Jenkins finished fourth in his section of the 60m with a 6.79 that placed him 13th overall with the top eight advancing to the final. In the 200m Jenkins won his section, but his time of 21.15 ranked 12th. Ebony Crear ran 8.63 in the 60m hurdles, placing eighth in her prelim.
In the women's mile Arin Rice clocked a best of 4:53.57, moving to No. 8 on the A&M all-time list, as she finished ninth in her section and 15th overall. The other section of the mile had Laura Craig running 5:00.29 in ninth place with Katie Watson 11th with a 5:06.81.