The Tradition Continues

Two points. That's all that separated Texas A&M from capturing the 2017 NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Florida held off the Aggies by a score of 61.5 – 59.5.

Coach Pat Henry has led the A&M program to nine National Titles during his tenure. The men fell just short of adding number 10 on Friday evening, but this was another incredible year for Aggie Track and Field. All programs dream of competing for conference and national titles. The Texas A&M men completed both of those things this year. The tradition in College Station continues, even after a difficult Friday night in Eugene.
 

There was disappointment. There was frustration. There were a number of what-ifs and some breaks that just didn't go Texas A&M's way. This one will hurt, because make no mistake, the Aggies had every opportunity to win the meet and cap off the year with another title. It wasn't to be on a chilly and damp night at Historic Hayward Field, but don't let Friday's finish diminish what Texas A&M accomplished this year.

Texas A&M won its first-ever indoor national title back in March, edging Florida for the championship with a win in the mile relay in the final event.

The Aggies followed with the SEC Men's Outdoor Championship in May. By the way, eight SEC schools finished among the top 10 in team scoring in Eugene.

The Aggies wrapped up the year just a couple of points away from another title. They achieved success largely due to a dominant nucleus of performers, and that nucleus was on full display again in Eugene.

It started with junior Ioannis Kyriazis, who broke the NCAA meet record in winning the javelin.
 

Lindon Victor, one of the Aggie seniors, followed by successfully defending his title in the decathlon.
 

Fred Kerley, another senior, concluded his year with a championship performance in the 400. For good measure, Kerley also anchored the championship mile relay team (Richard Rose, Mylik Kerley, Robert Grant), which became the first team to run under three minutes twice at the championship meet.

"It was a great, great day for Fred Kerley," said Henry. "He won the 400m and anchored two 4x400 relays to sub three minutes. Fred has grown so much in one year, it's just fantastic to see what that young guy has done over this past year."

It was a great year for Kerley. Friday completed his sweep of NCAA titles in the 400m. He may be the best quarter-miler in the world. The guy simply makes it look effortless.  

"It's been a blessing to wear the Aggie uniform," said Kerley. "When I first got here I was coming off an injury and ran 45.10 that season. Coach told me that if I can get through this last season healthy there is no telling what I can do. This season was a blessing."
 

You also can't ignore the contributions from others on the team.

The 400 relay team of Will Williams, Jace Comick, Elijah Morrow and Kerley ran a season-best time on Friday to give the Aggies a big five points that maybe wasn't expected. Then there's Robert Grant, who took a nasty fall during the 400 hurdle finals. He picked himself up, finished the race to give the Aggies a point, and then ran a strong third leg in the championship mile relay.

It was a year full of incredible moments, times and marks. Nobody was pleased with the runner-up finish on Friday night, but you can't deny the dominance of this team in 2016-17. The Aggies aren't going anywhere. Yes, they lose key contributors such as Lindon Victor and Fred Kerley…huge shoes to fill without a doubt, but contributors return, as does the tradition of success in Aggieland.

"When we look back on this, it's going to give us something to push for," said junior Mylik Kerley. "We have a lot of people coming back, and we'll stay persistent with what we do because at the end of the day, we're Texas A&M and we always come to fight."