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Texas A&M Men Claim School 4x1 Record In Heats
Texas A&M Track and Field
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Aggie men break 20-year-old school record in prelims of 4 x 100 relay
Fayetteville ˆ The first day of the NCAA Championships went very well for Texas A&M. In a season of superlatives for the Aggies this season, the men‚s sprint relay added another highlight in the prelims of the 4 x 100 relay at John McDonnell Field on Wednesday with a school record.
In addition to the record, A&M advanced a pair of long jumpers and a javelin thrower into the finals while Trinity Otto is currently in second place in the decathlon.
A time of 38.51 placed A&M ahead of LSU‚s 38.72 in the first prelim race and broke a 20-year-old school record in the process. The previous Aggie school record of 38.53 was set in 1989 at the NCAA Championships in the altitude site of Provo, Utah.
The Texas A&M foursome of Tran Howell, Gerald Phiri, Chris Dykes and Justin Oliver ran a collegiate leading time for 2009, bettering the previous best of 38.74 set by Florida, who won another heat in 38.57. The Aggies are now the No. 6 school on the all-time collegiate list and rank eighth on the 2009 world list.
„Honestly, the first thing I thought about was winning the heat since LSU was in the same race as us,‰ Oliver said. „We wanted to win it. Then I saw the clock at 38.51. Wow, we‚re the fastest people ever at A&M. It‚s a big surprise, a very pleasant surprise.
„Chris was the first one I saw after the race. We both had smiles on our faces from winning the heat over LSU. I told him we broke the school record and he got more excited.‰
Members of the previous A&M school record relay were Richard Bucknor, Derrick Florence, Andre Cason and Howard Davis.
The other heat winner in the men‚s 4 x 100 was Clemson (39.08). Additional teams in the final are LSU (38.72), Mississippi State (38.96), South Carolina (39.17), Kentucky (39.21), Auburn (39.31) and TCU (39.41).
„Coach Henry told us we can run faster, that we have some room left in our exchanges,‰ noted Oliver. „It‚s the best exchanges we‚ve had all year.
„We sent a message running that time in heat one, and everyone else had to chase our mark. Running from lane eight it was basically a time trail by our selves. We can do more in the finals with everyone in same race and with us running from the middle of the track.‰
In the women‚s 4 x 100, the 42.93 posted by the Aggie crew of Khrystal Carter, Porscha Lucas, Dominique Duncan and Gabby Mayo was the fastest time the A&M women have run in a prelim race this season, bettering the 43.38 they ran at the Midwest Region.
On the season the time is third fastest for the Aggies following a 42.80 at the Midwest Region and a 42.91 from the Texas Relays.
An early departure by Duncan on the second exchange meant she had to come to a near stop before leaving the exchange zone without the baton from Lucas. They regrouped and Mayo sped to the finish. Tennessee was runner-up to the Aggies in 44.29.
Other heat winners in the women‚s sprint relay included LSU (43.20), Florida State (43.79) and South Carolina (43.85). Also in the final are Oklahoma (43.92), Baylor (44.04), Arizona State (44.15), Tennessee (44.29) and Charleston Southern (44.35).
Otto went through the first day of the decathlon in second place through the five events. His score of 4,138 points slightly trails the score of 4,189 he produced during the Big 12 Championships.
Opening the day with a windy 10.66 in the 100 earned Otto 938 points. Then Otto had a pair of fouls in the long jump prior to getting a mark of 24-1.5 (7.35) to score 898 points instead of zero.
In the shot put a third round toss produced Otto‚s best mark of 45-8.5 (13.93) for 724 points. A high jump clearance of 6-2.75 (1.90) claimed 714 points. Closing out the first day with the 400, Otto ran 48.94 for 864 points.
Oregon‚s Ashton Eaton, the defending NCAA champion, leads the field with 4,367 points. Behind Otto is Mortiz Cleve of Kansas State with 4,131 points. Rounding out the top five are Tennessee‚s Michael Ayers (4,115) and North Carolina‚s Mateo Sossah (4,115).
In the men‚s long jump both Aggie jumpers advance to Thursday‚s final. Julian Reid and Tyron Stewart were third and seventh in the qualifying round.
„It‚s my second outdoor nationals, so I‚m taking everything in stride,‰ Reid said. „I‚m happy to qualify for the finals. The runway is a lot faster than we‚re normally used to and the wind was blowing a bit more today. We‚ll have to adjust our runs a lot more in the finals.‰
Reid produced a windy mark of 25-11.5 (7.91) while Stewart posted a windy 25-8.25 (7.83).
„It was definitely a learning experience last year, not making the final in the triple jump,‰ Stewart said. „This year we used that as motivation to come out here and do well. We want to make the finals and score points towards a championship.
„I was glad to get that jump in the second round, because my first round jump of 6.94 (22-9.25) wasn‚t very good. That wasn‚t going to cut it at all. I knew my second jump would advance me to the final.‰
Big 12 champion Laura Asimakis advanced to the final of the javelin as the 11th of 12 qualifiers. Her best mark was 160-6 (48.92) amid the rain. Teammate Emalie Humphreys placed 18th with a toss of 151-0 (46.04).
First round races in the 100 meters advanced three Aggies to the semifinals. Lucas won her heat in 11.14 while Gabby Mayo was runner-up in another heat with an 11.8. Phiri placed second in his heat with a 10.15.
The semifinals are scheduled to run on Wednesday evening, but the meet has been suspended since 7 p.m. due to weather. Rain, lightning and a tornado watch have affected the Fayetteville area this evening.
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