Aggies Win Three National Titles, Men Place Fifth

Saturday, March 12

Birmingham, Ala.

4:00 PM

Texas A&M

NCAA Indoor Championships

BIRMINGHAM, AL - 20220312 - NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Day 2

Photo by: Aiden Shertzer/Texas A&M Athletics

Mar 12, 2022 | Track and Field

Results Gallery

By: Tyler Pounds, Athletics Communications

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Texas A&M men's and women's track & field teams won three event national titles, while the men's team finished fifth at the NCAA Indoor Championships Saturday night at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

Lamara Distin claimed the Texas A&M's first national title of the meet winning the women's high jump at 6-3.5/1.92m. The sophomore cleared heights of 5-10/1.78m, 6-0/1.83m, 6-1.25/1.86m and 6-2.25/1.89m, all on first attempts. After failing her first two attempts at 6-3.5, Distin soared over the bar claiming the victory on her final attempt. The clearance equaled her personal best and matched her Jamaican National indoor record.

Brandon Miller followed with the second national title of the day winning the men's 800m at 1:47.19. The sophomore set the pace from the get-go clocking the first 400m at 52.57, he then followed running the next 200m in 27.75 and the final lap in 26.87. Miller became the first indoor 800m national champion in Aggie history.

The men's 4x400m captured the final event title on the day clocking 3:04.16. After winning heat two, the Aggies watched heat three round the oval as their time stood fast enough to be crowned national champions. The quartet of Miller, Omajuwa Etiwe, Chevannie Hanson and Emmanuel Bamidele became the sixth relay in Texas A&M history to claim an NCAA indoor title. Hanson ran a first leg split of 46.91, while Etiwe followed with a 46.23 split. Miller clocked a third leg split of 45.45 and Bamidele anchored the group with a split of 45.58.

Prior to the men's relay, Bamidele placed third in the 400m finals at a personal best time of 45.78. The men's team totaled 26 points for a fifth place finish in the team standings.

Senior Deborah Acquah led the Aggies in the night session finishing fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 45-6.5/13.88m. Already the school record holder at 46-10/14.27m, the mark registers as the second best performance in Aggie history.

Sophomores Charokee Young and Laila Owens each recorded seventh place finishes in their respective events. Owens ran 23.49 in the 200m, while Young clocked 51.61 in the 400m.

The women's 4x400m group of Owens, Tierra Robinson-Jones, Syaira Richardson and Kennedy Wade capped the night with a 10^th place at 3:36.92. Owens started the race with an opening split of 52.17, followed by Robinson-Jones splitting 51.69. Running in first place, it was during the third leg that Wade was bumped to the ground as the pack sped away resulting in a last place finish in heat three and 10th overall.

In the team standings, the women's squad placed 10^th with 24 points.

Next Up
Texas A&M opens the outdoor season at the Baldy Castillo Invitational on March 18-19 in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Angel Stadium.

Texas A&M Scorers
Points – Athlete – Event (Place)

12.5 – Brandon Miller – 800m (1^st), 4x400m (1^st)
10 – Lamara Distin – High Jump (1^st)
10 – Deborah Acquah – Long Jump (3^rd), Triple Jump (5^th)
8.5 – Emmanuel Bamidele – 400m (3^rd), 4x400m (1^st)
2.5 – Chevannie Hanson – 4x400m (1^st)
2.5 – Omajuwa Etiwe – 4x400m (1^st)
2 – Charokee Young – 400m (7^th)
2 – Laila Owens – 200m (7^th)

Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Pat Henry
on Brandon Miller…
"It's obvious to see how special of a guy he is. He is very confident in himself. There were some people trying to disrupt the race but he was smart enough to get out in front of all that. He didn't necessarily run fast, but that didn't make any difference. You run to win and that's what he did."

on Emmanuel Bamidele and the 4x400m…
"For a freshman to run 45-seconds in the open quarter is pretty special, there's not many freshmen running that fast. He looked real good in the relay. The group just competed, won the second heat and it ended up being the best thing we could possibly do and we ran the best we have all season."

on Deborah Acquah and Lamara Distin…
"Deborah [Acquah] did a fantastic job this weekend. To do what she did last night in the long jump, to come back and have that big of a triple jump mark [45-6.5] is impressive. She's a competitor and she's been great for us. Lamara [Distin] had a big time jump. She is about as consistent as anybody we've ever had in the high jump. She cleared 6-3.5 to win and that's a great jump for her right now. She's a great competitor."

on the women's 10^th place finish…
"I'm a bit disappointed in a few athletes that I believe they have a lot more talent than what they think and until they believe so, it's going to be hard to run any better. That'll have to change, it's the only way they can get better."

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