Photo by: Aiden Shertzer/Texas A&M Athletics
Romano and Radtke Record 1-2 Finish in Steeplechase at SEC Outdoor Championships
May 12, 2023 | Track and Field
BATON ROUGE, La. – Francesco Romano and Teddy Radkte took the top two places in the 3000m steeplechase as the Texas A&M men's and women's track & field teams completed day two of the SEC Outdoor Championship meet at Bernie Moore Stadium on Friday.
Running his first SEC Outdoor Championship ever, Romano made a huge move with three laps to go, taking the lead and holding on all the way to the line, crossing in 8:54.79, taking more than five seconds off his previous personal best. His time moves him to the No. 7 performer spot in school history. Running behind him, Radtke made a move of his own with a half mile to go, taking the second position and showing off his strong kick to hold onto silver, completing the Aggie 1-2 finish. The duo received the Aggies' first SEC steeplechase medals since Raymond Gonzales earned silver in 2018.
Heather Abadie improved her school record in the pole vault, clearing 14-3.25/4.35m to earn the silver medal. Abadie has finished in the top three of all eight pole vault competitions this season, finishing first or second in seven of those. She has placed in every SEC competition she has competed in for the Aggies dating back to February 2022. With the clearance, Abadie now holds the top six marks in school history. Ava Riche also earned a point in the pole vault competition, clearing a collegiate personal best 12-11.5/3.95m.
Joniar Thomas walked out of the pentathlon competition with the silver medal around her neck, scoring a personal best 5941 points. Thomas recorded lifetime bests in each day two event, long jumping 20-10/6.35m, throwing the javelin 139-10/42.64m, and running 2:23.20 in the 800m. Her overall score makes her the fourth best pentathlon performer in Texas A&M history, while her long jump makes her the No. 8 best jumper in school history. Her pentathlon total and 100m hurdles performance from yesterday (13.71) are pending ratification to be Grenadan national records.
Carter Bajoit finished fourth in the high jump, clearing 7-0.5/2.15m, his season best. The finish is Bajoit's highest career placement at an outdoor SEC meet and ties his highest jump in the past year.
In the women's 3000m steeplechase, Julia Abell finished fifth to give the Aggie women an additional four points. Abell's time of 10:24.30 is her second fastest time ever and registers as the No. 2 performance in school history, behind her school record of 10:13.74 from the Penn Relays. The fifth-place finish gives Abell the first SEC points of her career, as her previous best finish in a conference track race was 10th in the steeplechase at last year's outdoor meet.
Bryce Foster placed sixth in the shot put with a toss of 63-9.75/19.45m, coming on his second attempt. The throw is Foster's season best, as well as his second-best throw ever, behind his mark of 64-8.75/19.73m from last year's West Regional Prelims. Foster's finish matches his placement at the indoor SEC meet, where he finished sixth with a toss of 61-7.75/18.79m in his first competition back from injury.
G'Auna Edwards took seventh place in the long jump competition, jumping 20-7.25/6.28m, a season best. Returning from injury, Edwards' mark is the fifth-best wind-legal jump of her career.
In the decathlon, Blake Harris recorded a total of six personal bests across the two-day event to end in eighth place. His final total of 7231 points finished above teammate Landon Helms' score of 7118 in ninth. On day two, Harris set personal bests in the 110m hurdles (14.49), discus (114-10/35.01m) and the 1500m (4:41.82), as well as his final decathlon score.
In the high hurdles, Connor Schulman qualified for Saturday's 110m hurdle final, clocking 13.45 (w/2.3), the fourth-fastest time of the day. The mark is his all-conditions personal best, topping his previous best of 13.54 (w/2.2) at the Mt. SAC Relays. He will run in the final at 5:45 p.m. CT.
Jaiya Covington finished the 100m hurdles in an all-conditions personal best of 13.09 to advance to Saturday's final with the eighth-best time of the day. Covington will race in the 100m hurdles final on Saturday at 5:55 p.m. CT.
Chandon Chhikara ended the 1500m with a personal best of 3:43.41, topping his previous mark of 3:48.80 from the LSU Alumni Classic. Chhikara ended the day with the fourth-fastest time of the day, as well as the second-best performer mark in school history. Cooper Cawthra finished his heat in 3:44.23, his second-best time ever. Chhikara and Cawthra will race in the 1500m final at 5:25 p.m. CT on Saturday.
In the 100m, Ryan Martin clocked a personal best time of 10.17 to improve his No. 11 performer mark in school history. Martin's time was the seventh-fastest of the day, and advances him to the final that takes place at 6:25 p.m. CT.
On the women's side, Semira Killebrew clocked 11.23 to improve her previous personal best of 11.27 from the USC Trojan Classic, remaining the ninth-best performer in school history. Her time is the fifth-fastest mark from the prelims, just ahead of fellow Aggie Camryn Dickson who has the seventh-best time of the day at 11.30. The Aggie duo will run in the 100m final on Saturday at 6:35 p.m. CT.
Running the 400m, Auhmad Robinson qualified into Saturday's final with his time of 45.67, the ninth-fastest time of the day. Robinson's mark is his second-best outdoor time ever, and his fastest in almost two years. He will run in the 400m final at 6:05 p.m. CT.
Jermaisha Arnold and Tierra Robinson-Jones clocked the third and fifth fastest times of the day in the women's 400m, respectively. Arnold's mark of 51.07 won her heat, advancing her to the final, while Robinson-Jones recorded a time of 51.34 to tie for the win in her heat. The teammates will run in the 400m final at 6:15 p.m. CT.
At the end of day two, the Aggie women are in third place with 43 points, two points behind second place Ole Miss, while the Texas A&M men are in third with 34 points, one point back from Georgia in second place.
Saturday's action begins at 2:00 p.m. CT with the discus, while the running events are slated to start at 5:05 p.m. CT with the men's 4x100m relay final.
Fans can follow the live results provided by Delta Timing, or watch the live stream on SEC Network+.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Pat Henry
On the Team's Finals Qualifiers…
"It's indicative of this team to keep getting a little bit better and more competitive every meet. Across the board, we qualified well into tomorrow's finals. You never know what's gonna happen in the finals, so that's why we line up and compete. I'm please with where we are at this point. It's won't be easy tomorrow, but we've got people in the events and we'll see what happens."
On the Romano's Victory in the Men's Steeplechase…
"Francesco Romano learned some things about himself by going out and taking a chance earlier in the season. He came into this race and used that experience to succeed. At every team meeting we talk about taking chances in the rehearsals to understand what to do here at the play. He's one of those who did just that."
To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, log on to 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
Running his first SEC Outdoor Championship ever, Romano made a huge move with three laps to go, taking the lead and holding on all the way to the line, crossing in 8:54.79, taking more than five seconds off his previous personal best. His time moves him to the No. 7 performer spot in school history. Running behind him, Radtke made a move of his own with a half mile to go, taking the second position and showing off his strong kick to hold onto silver, completing the Aggie 1-2 finish. The duo received the Aggies' first SEC steeplechase medals since Raymond Gonzales earned silver in 2018.
Heather Abadie improved her school record in the pole vault, clearing 14-3.25/4.35m to earn the silver medal. Abadie has finished in the top three of all eight pole vault competitions this season, finishing first or second in seven of those. She has placed in every SEC competition she has competed in for the Aggies dating back to February 2022. With the clearance, Abadie now holds the top six marks in school history. Ava Riche also earned a point in the pole vault competition, clearing a collegiate personal best 12-11.5/3.95m.
Joniar Thomas walked out of the pentathlon competition with the silver medal around her neck, scoring a personal best 5941 points. Thomas recorded lifetime bests in each day two event, long jumping 20-10/6.35m, throwing the javelin 139-10/42.64m, and running 2:23.20 in the 800m. Her overall score makes her the fourth best pentathlon performer in Texas A&M history, while her long jump makes her the No. 8 best jumper in school history. Her pentathlon total and 100m hurdles performance from yesterday (13.71) are pending ratification to be Grenadan national records.
Carter Bajoit finished fourth in the high jump, clearing 7-0.5/2.15m, his season best. The finish is Bajoit's highest career placement at an outdoor SEC meet and ties his highest jump in the past year.
In the women's 3000m steeplechase, Julia Abell finished fifth to give the Aggie women an additional four points. Abell's time of 10:24.30 is her second fastest time ever and registers as the No. 2 performance in school history, behind her school record of 10:13.74 from the Penn Relays. The fifth-place finish gives Abell the first SEC points of her career, as her previous best finish in a conference track race was 10th in the steeplechase at last year's outdoor meet.
Bryce Foster placed sixth in the shot put with a toss of 63-9.75/19.45m, coming on his second attempt. The throw is Foster's season best, as well as his second-best throw ever, behind his mark of 64-8.75/19.73m from last year's West Regional Prelims. Foster's finish matches his placement at the indoor SEC meet, where he finished sixth with a toss of 61-7.75/18.79m in his first competition back from injury.
G'Auna Edwards took seventh place in the long jump competition, jumping 20-7.25/6.28m, a season best. Returning from injury, Edwards' mark is the fifth-best wind-legal jump of her career.
In the decathlon, Blake Harris recorded a total of six personal bests across the two-day event to end in eighth place. His final total of 7231 points finished above teammate Landon Helms' score of 7118 in ninth. On day two, Harris set personal bests in the 110m hurdles (14.49), discus (114-10/35.01m) and the 1500m (4:41.82), as well as his final decathlon score.
In the high hurdles, Connor Schulman qualified for Saturday's 110m hurdle final, clocking 13.45 (w/2.3), the fourth-fastest time of the day. The mark is his all-conditions personal best, topping his previous best of 13.54 (w/2.2) at the Mt. SAC Relays. He will run in the final at 5:45 p.m. CT.
Jaiya Covington finished the 100m hurdles in an all-conditions personal best of 13.09 to advance to Saturday's final with the eighth-best time of the day. Covington will race in the 100m hurdles final on Saturday at 5:55 p.m. CT.
Chandon Chhikara ended the 1500m with a personal best of 3:43.41, topping his previous mark of 3:48.80 from the LSU Alumni Classic. Chhikara ended the day with the fourth-fastest time of the day, as well as the second-best performer mark in school history. Cooper Cawthra finished his heat in 3:44.23, his second-best time ever. Chhikara and Cawthra will race in the 1500m final at 5:25 p.m. CT on Saturday.
In the 100m, Ryan Martin clocked a personal best time of 10.17 to improve his No. 11 performer mark in school history. Martin's time was the seventh-fastest of the day, and advances him to the final that takes place at 6:25 p.m. CT.
On the women's side, Semira Killebrew clocked 11.23 to improve her previous personal best of 11.27 from the USC Trojan Classic, remaining the ninth-best performer in school history. Her time is the fifth-fastest mark from the prelims, just ahead of fellow Aggie Camryn Dickson who has the seventh-best time of the day at 11.30. The Aggie duo will run in the 100m final on Saturday at 6:35 p.m. CT.
Running the 400m, Auhmad Robinson qualified into Saturday's final with his time of 45.67, the ninth-fastest time of the day. Robinson's mark is his second-best outdoor time ever, and his fastest in almost two years. He will run in the 400m final at 6:05 p.m. CT.
Jermaisha Arnold and Tierra Robinson-Jones clocked the third and fifth fastest times of the day in the women's 400m, respectively. Arnold's mark of 51.07 won her heat, advancing her to the final, while Robinson-Jones recorded a time of 51.34 to tie for the win in her heat. The teammates will run in the 400m final at 6:15 p.m. CT.
At the end of day two, the Aggie women are in third place with 43 points, two points behind second place Ole Miss, while the Texas A&M men are in third with 34 points, one point back from Georgia in second place.
Saturday's action begins at 2:00 p.m. CT with the discus, while the running events are slated to start at 5:05 p.m. CT with the men's 4x100m relay final.
Fans can follow the live results provided by Delta Timing, or watch the live stream on SEC Network+.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Pat Henry
On the Team's Finals Qualifiers…
"It's indicative of this team to keep getting a little bit better and more competitive every meet. Across the board, we qualified well into tomorrow's finals. You never know what's gonna happen in the finals, so that's why we line up and compete. I'm please with where we are at this point. It's won't be easy tomorrow, but we've got people in the events and we'll see what happens."
On the Romano's Victory in the Men's Steeplechase…
"Francesco Romano learned some things about himself by going out and taking a chance earlier in the season. He came into this race and used that experience to succeed. At every team meeting we talk about taking chances in the rehearsals to understand what to do here at the play. He's one of those who did just that."
To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, log on to 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.
Players Mentioned
Pole Vault
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track and Field
Multis
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Pole Vault
/ Track and FieldSprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and FieldJumps
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