Aggie frosh Tyra Gittens wins SEC heptathlon with school, national record
May 12, 2018 | Track and Field
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Texas A&M freshman Tyra Gittens became the first Aggie to win the SEC heptathlon and she did so in record fashion, breaking the school record and the national record for Trinidad & Tobago, as she produced a career best score of 6,074 points.
Aggie senior Shaina Burns joined Gittens on the awards podium as the silver medalist in the heptathlon. Burns generated a career best of 5,743 points, moving to the No. 5 performer on the Aggie all-time list, as she improved her previous best of 5,464 from the Texas Relays in March.
Texas A&M also picked up silver and bronze medals in the women's javelin with the tandem of Maddy Stulce and Kristen Clark. Will Williams earned a silver medal in the men's long jump with best mark under all-conditions ever produced by an Aggie. A career best score for Nathan Hite claimed the bronze medal in the decathlon.
Capping the evening with the 3,000m steeplechase, Texas A&M received a surprise silver medal from freshman Raymond Gonzales, who set a career best of 8:57.51 to become the No. 6 performer on the Aggie all-time list.
Through the second day of the conference meet, with seven of 21 finals scored, the Texas A&M men and women are both in second place. The Aggie medal count now includes a gold medal, five silver and two bronze medals.
Arkansas leads the men's field with 39 points over 35 for Texas A&M while Florida is third with 34. Alabama (33) and Georgia (30) round out the top five. Mississippi leads the women's field with 50 points as the Aggies are in second with 42. They are followed by Florida (37) and Tennessee (25) as Alabama and Georgia are tied in fifth with 22 points.
Qualifying to Sunday finals from prelims held Saturday included Bryce Deadmon (400m) as well as Alex Riba and Cameron Villarreal in the 1,500m. A collision in the prelim race that Villarreal ran in ended up creating a 20-person final following protests.
The impressive heptathlon score for Gittens, which ranks as the 17th best performer in collegiate history, broke the Texas A&M school record of 6,038 by Annie Kunz at the 2016 Olympics Trials as well as the Trinidad & Tobago national record of 5,962 set in 2004 by Marsha Mark-Baird.
"I love representing my country any time that I can and I love representing my school," noted Gittens. "And to be back in Tennessee, where I lived and went to high school, it's amazing. My family was able to come, as well as high school friends and teachers.
"I knew 6,000 points were possible after scoring 5,700 at Texas Relays, because I did it so early in the outdoor season. I've been doing a lot better in practice and feeling better. I knew amazing things were going to come."
Gittens started the second day of heptathlon with a career best in the long jump. Her leap of 20-10 ¾ (6.37) scored 965 points and moved Gittens to the No. 5 performer with No. 7 performance on Aggie all-time list.
A throw of 120-5 (36.71) in the javelin added 604 points to her score, bringing her total to 5,411 with one event remaining. Gittens ran 2:32.41 in the 800m to collect 663 points to reach her career best total. Gittens added 374 points to her previous best score of 5,700 from the Texas Relay in March.
Later in the evening, Gittens returned to compete in the long jump competition and placed fifth with another career best. A leap of 21-2 ¾ (6.47), with a 0.0 wind, moved her to No. 2 performer with the No. 2 performance on the Aggie all-time list. Gittens now only trails the school record of 21-5 ¼ (6.53) set by Adrien Sawyer in 1997.
The progression for Burns in the SEC heptathlon started with a 12th place finish in 2015 (4,800), continued with 10th place in 2016 (5,056) and eighth place in 2017 (5,356).
"It's great to get silver and also secure a spot for the NCAA Championships," stated Burns. "I missed out on nationals by one spot during indoors, so I came out here with a vengeance knowing I was going to have to put a big score on the table."
Burns scored 715 points in the long jump with a best of 18-2 ½ (5.55) and then topped the field in the javelin with a career best of 139-6 (42.54) for 716 points. Her 2:20.76 in the 800m picked up 813 points to secure her runner-up position over Florida's Amanda Froeys (5,663) and Tennessee's Maya Neal (5,650).
Stulce threw the javelin 170-10 (52.09) while Clark followed with a 170-5 (51.95) as they combined for 14 points. The winning mark of 181-9 (55.40) was produced by Florida's Avione Allgood.
A fourth-place finisher last season with a 181-5, Stulce made the medal stand this season as she produced her best throw in the third round and passed Clark, who had her best effort in the first round.
"The SEC competition is always the greatest in the nation," said Stulce, "I'm so proud to represent Texas A&M here. It's all about scoring points for your team at SECs, it's not about the mark. Today, Kristen and I did that in getting second and third. I'm so proud to be her teammate."
It marked the fourth time Clark has scored in the conference javelin, starting with a third place (170-8) her freshman year followed by seventh (165-3) in 2016 and sixth (171-6) in 2017. She matched her initial bronze medal with another in her senior season.
"I was very consistent with my series, it was one of the most consistent meets I've ever had," noted Clark. "Obviously, I wanted a lot more. Seeing how well my training has been the last few weeks and how I performed at LSU, I know it's there. I'm really happy that today was at least consistent. I know another big throw is coming."
The school record holder indoors, Williams produced the best ever mark by an Aggie under all-conditions in the long jump with his windy 27-0 ¾ (8.29) in the final round.
The effort secured a silver medal for the SEC and NCAA Indoor champion behind the windy 27-3 ¾ (8.32) by Florida's Grant Holloway. Claiming bronze with a wind-assisted 26-10 ½ (8.19) was Tim Duckworth of Kentucky, who led the competition for three rounds.
"I knew it was going to be a dogfight coming in," explained Williams. "Competing against Grant and then I found out Tim was jumping. I knew it would be a dogfight with everyone in the field, just not them two specifically. This type of meet prepares me for the rest of the season. I'm starting to get into my groove. This was my first meet from a long approach."
It's the second silver medal at the SEC Outdoor meet for Williams, who was runner-up in 2016 and placed fifth last year. The school record of 26-10 ½ (8.19) is held by Fabrice Lapierre from 2006 while the previous best wind-aided mark was a 26-10 (8.18) set by Julian Reid in 2009.
Williams produced a wind-legal career best of 26-5 (8.05) in his series which ranks him No. 4 performer with the No. 7 performance on the Aggie all-time list. Additional Aggie points in the long jump came from Tahar Triki, who placed fifth with a leap of 26-1 ½ (7.96) and ranks as the No. 7 performer on the Aggie all-time list.
"This is my first 27-foot jump, but I was still a few centimeters behind the board," said Williams. "I think there is still more there."
After scoring 4,081 points on the first day of the decathlon, Hite maintained third place throughout the five remaining events on day two of the mutli-event as he reached a total score of 7,723, which ranks as the No. 4 performer on the Aggie all-time list. Georgia's Karl Saluri won the decathlon with 7,934 points while Gabe Moore of Arkansas finished second at 7,901.
Hite started with a 15.04 in the 110m hurdles for 845 points, threw the discus 143-4 (43.70) for 740 points and vaulted 14-5 ¼ (4.40) for 731 additional points. In the javelin a toss of 189-11 (57.89) picked up 706 points and Hite wrapped up the decathlon with a 4:49.75 in the 1,500m for 620 points.
"It was definitely the hardest decathlon I've ever done," stated Hite. "It was a hard fought battle from the beginning coming off sickness and a hamstring injury. I also tweaked my ankle in the long jump yesterday, and had to get through that for the remaining eight events. It was a special challenge, but it tastes that much sweeter for having been through more.
"It's almost indescribable to say what finishing third in the SEC decathlon means to me. It's been so much work to get here, and not just this year but since my redshirt freshman year. It's almost surreal being at the level that I'm at now."
Gonzales steadily made his way up the 20-man steeplechase field. In fourth place on the final circuit of the track, Gonzales moved into third and by the water jump was in second place. Kyle Hosting of Arkansas won in 8:55.56 with Gonzales runner-up at 8:57.51 over an 8:59.04 for Tennessee's Alex Crigger in third. Aggie Zephyr Stevens posted a time of 9:11.41 in eighth place.
"Actually, it was very surprising to finish second," said Gonzales, who was seeded 10th in the SEC. "I came in here with the mindset to score and compete so I could help the team. I did that an exceeded my expectations.
"I knew every point counts, so that motivated me to pass as many people as I could near the end of the race. I'm confident enough in my kick and if it comes down to it, I know I have a good chance of coming out on top."
The women's steeplechase created a scoring opportunity for Ashton Hutcherson, who matched her eighth place finish from last year, as she clocked 10:40.82, the No. 5 performance at A&M. Teammate Rachel Bernardo placed 10th with a career best of 10:46.62, the No. 4 performer on the Aggie all-time list.
Serena Brown placed 11th in the women's shot put (47-1 ¾), Gabe Oladipo finished 13th in the men's shot put (57-2 ¾). In the long jump Lajarvia Brown (19-8) placed 15th while Ciynamon Stevenson (19-2 ¾) finished 18th.
Aggie senior Shaina Burns joined Gittens on the awards podium as the silver medalist in the heptathlon. Burns generated a career best of 5,743 points, moving to the No. 5 performer on the Aggie all-time list, as she improved her previous best of 5,464 from the Texas Relays in March.
Texas A&M also picked up silver and bronze medals in the women's javelin with the tandem of Maddy Stulce and Kristen Clark. Will Williams earned a silver medal in the men's long jump with best mark under all-conditions ever produced by an Aggie. A career best score for Nathan Hite claimed the bronze medal in the decathlon.
Capping the evening with the 3,000m steeplechase, Texas A&M received a surprise silver medal from freshman Raymond Gonzales, who set a career best of 8:57.51 to become the No. 6 performer on the Aggie all-time list.
Through the second day of the conference meet, with seven of 21 finals scored, the Texas A&M men and women are both in second place. The Aggie medal count now includes a gold medal, five silver and two bronze medals.
Arkansas leads the men's field with 39 points over 35 for Texas A&M while Florida is third with 34. Alabama (33) and Georgia (30) round out the top five. Mississippi leads the women's field with 50 points as the Aggies are in second with 42. They are followed by Florida (37) and Tennessee (25) as Alabama and Georgia are tied in fifth with 22 points.
Qualifying to Sunday finals from prelims held Saturday included Bryce Deadmon (400m) as well as Alex Riba and Cameron Villarreal in the 1,500m. A collision in the prelim race that Villarreal ran in ended up creating a 20-person final following protests.
The impressive heptathlon score for Gittens, which ranks as the 17th best performer in collegiate history, broke the Texas A&M school record of 6,038 by Annie Kunz at the 2016 Olympics Trials as well as the Trinidad & Tobago national record of 5,962 set in 2004 by Marsha Mark-Baird.
"I love representing my country any time that I can and I love representing my school," noted Gittens. "And to be back in Tennessee, where I lived and went to high school, it's amazing. My family was able to come, as well as high school friends and teachers.
"I knew 6,000 points were possible after scoring 5,700 at Texas Relays, because I did it so early in the outdoor season. I've been doing a lot better in practice and feeling better. I knew amazing things were going to come."
Gittens started the second day of heptathlon with a career best in the long jump. Her leap of 20-10 ¾ (6.37) scored 965 points and moved Gittens to the No. 5 performer with No. 7 performance on Aggie all-time list.
A throw of 120-5 (36.71) in the javelin added 604 points to her score, bringing her total to 5,411 with one event remaining. Gittens ran 2:32.41 in the 800m to collect 663 points to reach her career best total. Gittens added 374 points to her previous best score of 5,700 from the Texas Relay in March.
Later in the evening, Gittens returned to compete in the long jump competition and placed fifth with another career best. A leap of 21-2 ¾ (6.47), with a 0.0 wind, moved her to No. 2 performer with the No. 2 performance on the Aggie all-time list. Gittens now only trails the school record of 21-5 ¼ (6.53) set by Adrien Sawyer in 1997.
The progression for Burns in the SEC heptathlon started with a 12th place finish in 2015 (4,800), continued with 10th place in 2016 (5,056) and eighth place in 2017 (5,356).
"It's great to get silver and also secure a spot for the NCAA Championships," stated Burns. "I missed out on nationals by one spot during indoors, so I came out here with a vengeance knowing I was going to have to put a big score on the table."
Burns scored 715 points in the long jump with a best of 18-2 ½ (5.55) and then topped the field in the javelin with a career best of 139-6 (42.54) for 716 points. Her 2:20.76 in the 800m picked up 813 points to secure her runner-up position over Florida's Amanda Froeys (5,663) and Tennessee's Maya Neal (5,650).
Stulce threw the javelin 170-10 (52.09) while Clark followed with a 170-5 (51.95) as they combined for 14 points. The winning mark of 181-9 (55.40) was produced by Florida's Avione Allgood.
A fourth-place finisher last season with a 181-5, Stulce made the medal stand this season as she produced her best throw in the third round and passed Clark, who had her best effort in the first round.
"The SEC competition is always the greatest in the nation," said Stulce, "I'm so proud to represent Texas A&M here. It's all about scoring points for your team at SECs, it's not about the mark. Today, Kristen and I did that in getting second and third. I'm so proud to be her teammate."
It marked the fourth time Clark has scored in the conference javelin, starting with a third place (170-8) her freshman year followed by seventh (165-3) in 2016 and sixth (171-6) in 2017. She matched her initial bronze medal with another in her senior season.
"I was very consistent with my series, it was one of the most consistent meets I've ever had," noted Clark. "Obviously, I wanted a lot more. Seeing how well my training has been the last few weeks and how I performed at LSU, I know it's there. I'm really happy that today was at least consistent. I know another big throw is coming."
The school record holder indoors, Williams produced the best ever mark by an Aggie under all-conditions in the long jump with his windy 27-0 ¾ (8.29) in the final round.
The effort secured a silver medal for the SEC and NCAA Indoor champion behind the windy 27-3 ¾ (8.32) by Florida's Grant Holloway. Claiming bronze with a wind-assisted 26-10 ½ (8.19) was Tim Duckworth of Kentucky, who led the competition for three rounds.
"I knew it was going to be a dogfight coming in," explained Williams. "Competing against Grant and then I found out Tim was jumping. I knew it would be a dogfight with everyone in the field, just not them two specifically. This type of meet prepares me for the rest of the season. I'm starting to get into my groove. This was my first meet from a long approach."
It's the second silver medal at the SEC Outdoor meet for Williams, who was runner-up in 2016 and placed fifth last year. The school record of 26-10 ½ (8.19) is held by Fabrice Lapierre from 2006 while the previous best wind-aided mark was a 26-10 (8.18) set by Julian Reid in 2009.
Williams produced a wind-legal career best of 26-5 (8.05) in his series which ranks him No. 4 performer with the No. 7 performance on the Aggie all-time list. Additional Aggie points in the long jump came from Tahar Triki, who placed fifth with a leap of 26-1 ½ (7.96) and ranks as the No. 7 performer on the Aggie all-time list.
"This is my first 27-foot jump, but I was still a few centimeters behind the board," said Williams. "I think there is still more there."
After scoring 4,081 points on the first day of the decathlon, Hite maintained third place throughout the five remaining events on day two of the mutli-event as he reached a total score of 7,723, which ranks as the No. 4 performer on the Aggie all-time list. Georgia's Karl Saluri won the decathlon with 7,934 points while Gabe Moore of Arkansas finished second at 7,901.
Hite started with a 15.04 in the 110m hurdles for 845 points, threw the discus 143-4 (43.70) for 740 points and vaulted 14-5 ¼ (4.40) for 731 additional points. In the javelin a toss of 189-11 (57.89) picked up 706 points and Hite wrapped up the decathlon with a 4:49.75 in the 1,500m for 620 points.
"It was definitely the hardest decathlon I've ever done," stated Hite. "It was a hard fought battle from the beginning coming off sickness and a hamstring injury. I also tweaked my ankle in the long jump yesterday, and had to get through that for the remaining eight events. It was a special challenge, but it tastes that much sweeter for having been through more.
"It's almost indescribable to say what finishing third in the SEC decathlon means to me. It's been so much work to get here, and not just this year but since my redshirt freshman year. It's almost surreal being at the level that I'm at now."
Gonzales steadily made his way up the 20-man steeplechase field. In fourth place on the final circuit of the track, Gonzales moved into third and by the water jump was in second place. Kyle Hosting of Arkansas won in 8:55.56 with Gonzales runner-up at 8:57.51 over an 8:59.04 for Tennessee's Alex Crigger in third. Aggie Zephyr Stevens posted a time of 9:11.41 in eighth place.
"Actually, it was very surprising to finish second," said Gonzales, who was seeded 10th in the SEC. "I came in here with the mindset to score and compete so I could help the team. I did that an exceeded my expectations.
"I knew every point counts, so that motivated me to pass as many people as I could near the end of the race. I'm confident enough in my kick and if it comes down to it, I know I have a good chance of coming out on top."
The women's steeplechase created a scoring opportunity for Ashton Hutcherson, who matched her eighth place finish from last year, as she clocked 10:40.82, the No. 5 performance at A&M. Teammate Rachel Bernardo placed 10th with a career best of 10:46.62, the No. 4 performer on the Aggie all-time list.
Serena Brown placed 11th in the women's shot put (47-1 ¾), Gabe Oladipo finished 13th in the men's shot put (57-2 ¾). In the long jump Lajarvia Brown (19-8) placed 15th while Ciynamon Stevenson (19-2 ¾) finished 18th.
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