Aggies display sprint and hurdle speed during Michael Johnson Invitational

Saturday, April 21

Waco, Texas

9 a.m.

Texas A&M

Michael Johnson Classic

Photo by: Errol Anderson

Apr 21, 2018 | Track and Field

2018 MJ Final Results 2018 MJ Final Results

WACO – Texas A&M's sprint and hurdle speed were on display during the Michael Johnson Invitational hosted by Baylor on Saturday as expected rain and thunderstorms was limited to a two-hour delay during the morning session.

"The day started off bad with the delay, then ended up being pretty good," said Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. "I'm pleased with the group today. We're doing some things I expected us to be able to do right now. Some things we're doing a little bit better.

"Last night we had another school record from Alex Riba in the 1,500 and he ran very fast. So, it was good to have another weekend with a school record."

Devin Dixon, the SEC champion in the 800m, raced in the 400m and sped around the Clyde Hart Track and Field Complex in 45.22 seconds to place second to the 44.73 produced by Baylor's Wil London. The career best for Dixon ranks No. 11 on the Aggie all-time list and improved his previous best of 45.96 set back in March.

London, who ran the second fastest collegiate time this outdoor season and fifth fastest in the world, challenged the meet record of 44.60 set by Fred Kerley last year. Finishing behind Dixon from the two-section final in places 5-6-7 were teammates Richard Rose (46.28), Kyree Johnson (46.39) and Bryce Deadmon (46.73).

"It was wonderful," stated Dixon on running a 45.22. "I never expected myself to run that fast. It just came out of nowhere. I felt good and just took it out.

"If I keep this up I may change people's perception of me being an 800m runner. They even called me the 800 runner during introductions to the race. Then after the race they noted that Devin Dixon ran 45.2, and he's an 800 runner."

When asked if Dixon is almost becoming a quarter-miler for the Aggies, Henry replied: "The key word there is almost."

In the 4x400, Dixon anchored Texas A&M to a 3:02.19 victory over Texas Tech (3:02.82), Baylor (3:03.63) and Arkansas (3:05.48). It's the fastest the Aggies have run outdoors this season and equals the No. 15 performer on the A&M all-time list.

Leading off the relay effort was Mylik Kerley with a split of 44.6 while Kyree Johnson followed with a 46.1 carry and Izu split 46.0. Tech held a slight edge on the final exchange, but it wasn't enough to deny Dixon's effort from a 45.5 anchor leg.

"It felt like a routine run for us," noted Dixon. "It was a good run from all of us."

A second crew of Aggies won the other section of the 4x400 in 3:07.96 and placed fifth overall with a quartet of Rose, Infinite Tucker, Colby Zamzow and Tyler Hart.

The Aggie women won both relays, taking the 4x100 in 44.19 while the 4x400 crew won in season best of 3:32.78.

The sprint relay consisted of Amber Ivy, Diamond Spaulding, Brenessa Thompson and Julia Madubuike. They finished ahead of Notre Dame (46.06) and Abilene Christian (46.89) while a dropped baton thwarted Baylor's effort as they placed fourth in 48.79.

Running the Aggie 4x400 squad were Madubuike (53.7), Jarra Owens (53.8), Jazmine Fray (51.8) and Sammy Watson (53.5). They held off the challenge from Baylor, who posted a time of 3:32.86 as runner-up.

Spaulding as the top collegian in the 100m in 11.37 (1.2 wind) for the Aggies with Ivy third at 11.49. Jace Comick finished second in the men's 100 at 10.37 (1.4 wind). Later, Comick won his section of the 200m in a windy 20.99 (3.5 wind) while placing fifth overall. In the women's 200m, Ivy was fourth among collegians at 23.35w (2.3 wind).

Watson also ran in the open 400m, placing fourth in with a time of 53.77, as she faced a field that included Baylor's tandem of Kiana Horton (52.11) and Victoria Powell (53.11) as well as Jordan Shead of Notre Dame (53.30).

Lauren Lawless won the women's 400m hurdles with a career best 58.82 as she powered to the finish line off the final hurdle while SFA's Dominique Jackson ran 59.23 as runner-up. Teammate Gabrielle McDonald placed third in 59.44. The effort by Lawless moved her to No. 11 on the Aggie all-time list as she improved her previous best of 59.25 from the Texas Relays weekend.

In the men's 400m hurdles, Puerto Rico's Javier Culson won the race in 50.36 and was challenged by a pair of Aggies. Ilolo Izu finished second in 50.51 while Infinite Tucker produced a career best of 50.59 from lane two to better his 51.19 from a couple of weeks ago. Tyler Hart used a strong finish to win his section of the 400m hurdles in 51.20 as he placed sixth overall.

Third place efforts were turned in by Tyler Guillory (14.04w) in the 110m hurdles and Chinyere Njoku (13.49) in the 100m hurdles. Baylor alum Tiffani McReynolds won the women's race in 13.02 (1.1 wind) with Notre Dame's Summer Thorpe (13.40) runner-up.

In distance races, Maddie Vondra and Lauryn Barrientos finished 1-2 in the women's 5,000m. Vondra posted a winning time of 17:43.79 as Barrientos followed in 17:58.50.

Jacob Perry claimed the men's 5,000m in 14:55.94 as Eli Canal finished fourth in 15:15.25 and Nicko Enochs placed fifth in 15:28.30. Perry led the field for a few laps in the latter half of the race. In the final couple of laps, though, Conor Hendrickson of Texas took over the lead. Perry then kicked with 200m remaining to reclaim the lead and produce a victory as Hendrickson finished second in 14:58.40.

Sam Erickson ran 9:39.05 in the 3,000m steeplechase to place third while Zach Martin finished sixth in 10:07.39. In the women's 1,500 a trio of Aggies finished 4-5-6 with Valarie Bradley (4:32.05), Hannah Campbell (4:32.51) and Rachel Bernardo (4:35.31). Taylor Clayton placed second in the men's 1,500, and was the top collegian, with a 3:54.52.

Serena Brown won the invitational discus section with a 170-10 (52.06) on her first throw. Carissa van Beek registered a victory in the hammer as she topped the field by nine feet with a throw of 185-9 (56.63). Runner-up was Notre Dame's Rachel Tanczos with a toss of 176-8 (53.84).

Tahar Triki claimed the triple jump with a wind-aided mark of 52-9 ¼ (16.08) over Texas Tech's Charles Brown (52-8w|16.05). Triki also hit a mark of 25-0 (7.62) as runner-up in the men's long jump as he finished behind a 25-2 ½ (7.68) by Odaine Lewis of Texas Tech.

Gabe Oladipo finished second in two invitational events, the shot put (57-2|17.42) and discus (186-6|56.84). Jacob Wooten cleared 17-9 (5.41) to finish third in the pole vault as Notre Dame's Nate Richartz made 18-1 (5.51) for the victory.

Early morning throwing events had Maddy Stulce placing second in the women's javelin with a toss of 163-5 (49.80) as Kristen Clark finished fifth at 153-10 (46.88). The winner of the event, with a toss of 173-3 (52.80), was Ariana Ince, a former Texas A&M volunteer assistant. Austin Cook threw the hammer 191-9 (58.45) to place third.

During a session of inclement weather, which included a lightning delay, the women's pole vault moved indoors. Sara Kathryn Stevens cleared 13-2 ½ (4.03) as runner-up while teammate Emily Gunderson placed sixth with a clearance of 12-8 ¾ (3.88).

Running the in afternoon session of track events, Emily McCollum won her section of the 800m in 2:15.06 while Nikki Keys (4:41.51) and Kylie Purifoy (4:42.56) placed third and fourth in the 1,500. Shaina Burns posted a time of 14.14 in the 100m hurdles.

RIBA IMPROVES SCHOOL RECORD IN 1,500m

Racing at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azuza Pacific on Friday evening, Alex Riba improved the Texas A&M school record in the 1,500 meters he recently broke during the UCLA Invitational last weekend. Finishing ninth in his section, Riba posted a time of 3:40.66 to better the 3:43.06 he ran in Los Angeles.

In addition to producing the top pair of 1,500m times in school history, Riba's 3:44.14 from last year now ranks as the No. 7 performance.

Also setting a career best in the 1,500m was Cameron Villarreal, who placed fifth in another section with a time of 3:44.81 to better his previous best of 3:45.43 from 2015. Villarreal remains No. 7 on the Aggie all-time list.

On Thursday evening, racing at the Mt. SAC Relays in Torrance, California, Brandt Preston produced a career best of 30:02.68 in the 10,000m, moving to No. 8 performer on the Aggie all-time list. In the women's race, Karis Jochen clocked 34:07.95 (No. 11 A&M performance) while Ashley Driscoll posted a 35:47.91 (No. 13 A&M performer).