Photo by: Errol Anderson
Pair of Aggie school records broken during first day of SEC Indoor Championships
Feb 24, 2017 | Track and Field
NASHVILLE – A pair of school records highlighted the first day of the SEC Indoor Championships for Texas A&M on the 300-meter track at Vanderbilt's Multipurpose Facility. The Texas A&M men are currently in sixth place with 13 points from three events while the women are in 10th place with six points from two events.
Aggie senior Fred Kerley became the first person to ever run under 45 seconds on an indoor oversized track as he ran 44.94 seconds during the 400m prelims. Texas A&M junior Emily Gunderson placed fifth in the women's pole vault, improving her school record to 14 feet, 2.5 inches.
The standard size of an indoor facility for record purposes is a 200m banked track. A time of 45.19 by Antonio McKay set in 1986 in Johnson City, Tennessee, was the previous fastest time run in the 400m on an oversized track.
Kerley broke the Texas A&M school record two weeks ago with a world-leading 45.02 on a 200m banked track in Clemson and now has become the first Aggie to run under 45 seconds indoors. The SEC Indoor Championship record is 44.80 set by Alabama's Kirani James in 2011.
"I'm just feel blessed to run that time, but I know I still have work to do tomorrow," stated Kerley. "On this track I just really feel like I'm outside with this flat track. So I was able to run like I do during our training on an outdoor track. It was a little smoother when we cut in to the inside lane."
Another school record performance by Emily Gunderson placed her fifth in the women's pole vault at the SEC Indoor Championships. Gunderson cleared 14-2 ½ (4.33) on her second attempt to better the Texas A&M record of 14-0 ¾ (4.29) she established last weekend. Before attempting a school record height Gunderson needed three tries to get past 13-11 ¼ (4.25).
"Setting another school record is fun and exciting," said Gunderson, who cleared 13-1 ½ and 13-7 ¼ on first attempts. "In this environment every miss can cost you team points. Having jumped 14 feet last weekend gave me confidence, since I knew I could do it.
"Each bar I go higher prepares me more and more for nationals. Even facing this field at the conference meet is a lot of pressure, but in a good way. It makes it a fun competition."
Will Williams improved his indoor best in the long jump by a quarter of an inch to place third with a mark of 25-9 ½ (7.86). He is now equal No. 3 on the Aggie all-time indoor list with the equal No. 6 performance as he shares the position with Tim Bryant, who set his mark in 1995.
"I felt very comfortable with my position, and I felt comfortable with my runs," noted Williams, who ran a season best of 6.77 in the prelims of the 60m prior to the long jump competition. "I was focused on executing my run so I could set up my jump. I just feel like I'm back."
Finishing ahead of Williams in the long jump were Florida's KeAndre Bates, with a leap of 26-4 ½ (8.04), and Travonn White of Arkansas, with a 26-0 ¼ (7.93).
Cameron Villarreal handled the up and down tempo of the men's 3,000m and produced a career best time of 8:03.76 to finish in fourth place. Teammate Christian Farris placed 10th with a career best of 8:16.00.
Villarreal's previous best was 8:11.51 set two weeks ago. Now he is No. 2 with the No. 7 performance on the Texas A&M all-time list. Only Aggie alum Henry Lelei has run faster than Villarreal in the event.
"Going into the race I was fairly confident in my ability to PR at this meet," noted Villarreal. "I don't have a lot of racing experience in the 3k. I was really confident in my workouts leading up to this meet. I wanted to compete for the win, every time you line up you want to compete for the victory, but a secondary goal was to break 8 minutes. It was still a huge PR, so you can never complain about that."
Lindon Victor leads the first day of the heptathlon with 3,380 points, holding a one-point edge over Devon Williams of Georgia. Last season Victor established an SEC first day record with 3,424 points. Aggie teammate Nathan Hite is currently in 11th place with 2,925 points.
Marks for Victor in the first four events of the heptathlon included 6.94 (904 points) in the 60m, 23-0 ¾ long jump (821), 52-6 ¾ shot put (852) and 6-6 ¾ in the high jump (803). The second day of the heptathlon includes the 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1,000m. Victor produced the best marks in the shot put and high jump.
Shaina Burns placed seventh in the women's pentathlon with a career best of 4,005 points, which moves her to No. 3 on the Aggie all-time list with the No. 9 performance. Burns opened with a best of 8.96 (976 points) in the 60 hurdles, cleared 5-6 ½ (842) in the high jump, led the shot put with a 44-8 ¾ (769), went 17-8 ¾ (671) in the long jump, and finished with a best of 2:21.34 (805) in the 800m.
With a toss of 67-6 (20.57), Austin Cook finished seventh in the men's weight throw. His series included marks of 66-10 (20.37), 66-8 (20.32) and 66-7 ¼ (20.30)as he produced the No. 3, No. 5, No. 7, and No. 8 performances on the school's all-time list behind his Aggie record of 67-11 ½ (20.71).
Garrett Cragin placed ninth in the high jump, clearing 6-10 ¼ (2.09) on his third attempt. Places sixth through ninth all finished at the same height, but were separated by misses at that height. The next height up, 7-0 ¼ (2.14) determined scoring positions from third to fifth place.
Also competing in the women's pole vault were Sara Kathryn Stevens and August Thomason, who both cleared 13-1 ½ (4.00) in placing 12th and 14th, respectively. Placing 12th and 14th in the shot put were the Aggie tandem of Celine Markert (46-4 ¼) and Serena Brown (45-6 ½).
Qualifying races produced a solid number of qualifiers for Texas A&M as 12 athletes advanced to six finals, six each for the men (400, 800, mile) and women (200, 400, 800).
Joining Fred in the 400m final was younger brother Mylik Kerley, who clocked the third best time in the prelim at 45.80. That time moves Mylik to No. 5 on the Aggie all-time list.
Also establishing a PR in the 400m prelims was Robert Grant in 46.61 while Richard Rose posted a 46.76 as they finished 12th and 13th overall to miss the final. Defending SEC champion Kahmari Montgomery of Missouri was 14th overall with a 46.80.
The women advanced three sprinters in the 200m with Danyel White (23.43) leading the way as Aaliyah Brown (23.60) and Diamond Spaulding (23.64) followed. Jaevin Reed advanced in the women's 400m with a 53.76 while the 800m tandem of Jazmine Fray (2:08.00) and Katie Willard (2:08.86) qualified for the final.
Devin Dixon (1:49.30) and JaQwae Ellison (1:49.96) advanced in the men's 800m while the mile had a pair of Aggies qualifying as well with Alex Riba (4:08.85) and Taylor Clayton (4:10.55).
Aggie senior Fred Kerley became the first person to ever run under 45 seconds on an indoor oversized track as he ran 44.94 seconds during the 400m prelims. Texas A&M junior Emily Gunderson placed fifth in the women's pole vault, improving her school record to 14 feet, 2.5 inches.
The standard size of an indoor facility for record purposes is a 200m banked track. A time of 45.19 by Antonio McKay set in 1986 in Johnson City, Tennessee, was the previous fastest time run in the 400m on an oversized track.
Kerley broke the Texas A&M school record two weeks ago with a world-leading 45.02 on a 200m banked track in Clemson and now has become the first Aggie to run under 45 seconds indoors. The SEC Indoor Championship record is 44.80 set by Alabama's Kirani James in 2011.
"I'm just feel blessed to run that time, but I know I still have work to do tomorrow," stated Kerley. "On this track I just really feel like I'm outside with this flat track. So I was able to run like I do during our training on an outdoor track. It was a little smoother when we cut in to the inside lane."
Another school record performance by Emily Gunderson placed her fifth in the women's pole vault at the SEC Indoor Championships. Gunderson cleared 14-2 ½ (4.33) on her second attempt to better the Texas A&M record of 14-0 ¾ (4.29) she established last weekend. Before attempting a school record height Gunderson needed three tries to get past 13-11 ¼ (4.25).
"Setting another school record is fun and exciting," said Gunderson, who cleared 13-1 ½ and 13-7 ¼ on first attempts. "In this environment every miss can cost you team points. Having jumped 14 feet last weekend gave me confidence, since I knew I could do it.
"Each bar I go higher prepares me more and more for nationals. Even facing this field at the conference meet is a lot of pressure, but in a good way. It makes it a fun competition."
Will Williams improved his indoor best in the long jump by a quarter of an inch to place third with a mark of 25-9 ½ (7.86). He is now equal No. 3 on the Aggie all-time indoor list with the equal No. 6 performance as he shares the position with Tim Bryant, who set his mark in 1995.
"I felt very comfortable with my position, and I felt comfortable with my runs," noted Williams, who ran a season best of 6.77 in the prelims of the 60m prior to the long jump competition. "I was focused on executing my run so I could set up my jump. I just feel like I'm back."
Finishing ahead of Williams in the long jump were Florida's KeAndre Bates, with a leap of 26-4 ½ (8.04), and Travonn White of Arkansas, with a 26-0 ¼ (7.93).
Cameron Villarreal handled the up and down tempo of the men's 3,000m and produced a career best time of 8:03.76 to finish in fourth place. Teammate Christian Farris placed 10th with a career best of 8:16.00.
Villarreal's previous best was 8:11.51 set two weeks ago. Now he is No. 2 with the No. 7 performance on the Texas A&M all-time list. Only Aggie alum Henry Lelei has run faster than Villarreal in the event.
"Going into the race I was fairly confident in my ability to PR at this meet," noted Villarreal. "I don't have a lot of racing experience in the 3k. I was really confident in my workouts leading up to this meet. I wanted to compete for the win, every time you line up you want to compete for the victory, but a secondary goal was to break 8 minutes. It was still a huge PR, so you can never complain about that."
Lindon Victor leads the first day of the heptathlon with 3,380 points, holding a one-point edge over Devon Williams of Georgia. Last season Victor established an SEC first day record with 3,424 points. Aggie teammate Nathan Hite is currently in 11th place with 2,925 points.
Marks for Victor in the first four events of the heptathlon included 6.94 (904 points) in the 60m, 23-0 ¾ long jump (821), 52-6 ¾ shot put (852) and 6-6 ¾ in the high jump (803). The second day of the heptathlon includes the 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1,000m. Victor produced the best marks in the shot put and high jump.
Shaina Burns placed seventh in the women's pentathlon with a career best of 4,005 points, which moves her to No. 3 on the Aggie all-time list with the No. 9 performance. Burns opened with a best of 8.96 (976 points) in the 60 hurdles, cleared 5-6 ½ (842) in the high jump, led the shot put with a 44-8 ¾ (769), went 17-8 ¾ (671) in the long jump, and finished with a best of 2:21.34 (805) in the 800m.
With a toss of 67-6 (20.57), Austin Cook finished seventh in the men's weight throw. His series included marks of 66-10 (20.37), 66-8 (20.32) and 66-7 ¼ (20.30)as he produced the No. 3, No. 5, No. 7, and No. 8 performances on the school's all-time list behind his Aggie record of 67-11 ½ (20.71).
Garrett Cragin placed ninth in the high jump, clearing 6-10 ¼ (2.09) on his third attempt. Places sixth through ninth all finished at the same height, but were separated by misses at that height. The next height up, 7-0 ¼ (2.14) determined scoring positions from third to fifth place.
Also competing in the women's pole vault were Sara Kathryn Stevens and August Thomason, who both cleared 13-1 ½ (4.00) in placing 12th and 14th, respectively. Placing 12th and 14th in the shot put were the Aggie tandem of Celine Markert (46-4 ¼) and Serena Brown (45-6 ½).
Qualifying races produced a solid number of qualifiers for Texas A&M as 12 athletes advanced to six finals, six each for the men (400, 800, mile) and women (200, 400, 800).
Joining Fred in the 400m final was younger brother Mylik Kerley, who clocked the third best time in the prelim at 45.80. That time moves Mylik to No. 5 on the Aggie all-time list.
Also establishing a PR in the 400m prelims was Robert Grant in 46.61 while Richard Rose posted a 46.76 as they finished 12th and 13th overall to miss the final. Defending SEC champion Kahmari Montgomery of Missouri was 14th overall with a 46.80.
The women advanced three sprinters in the 200m with Danyel White (23.43) leading the way as Aaliyah Brown (23.60) and Diamond Spaulding (23.64) followed. Jaevin Reed advanced in the women's 400m with a 53.76 while the 800m tandem of Jazmine Fray (2:08.00) and Katie Willard (2:08.86) qualified for the final.
Devin Dixon (1:49.30) and JaQwae Ellison (1:49.96) advanced in the men's 800m while the mile had a pair of Aggies qualifying as well with Alex Riba (4:08.85) and Taylor Clayton (4:10.55).
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