Texas A&M track and field split into two different squads for this weekend’s meets. A majority of the team traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico to compete in the New Mexico Team Open, while a few athletes competed in the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston.
Junior Winny Bii started off the New Mexico Team Open on day one with a second-place finish in the women’s long jump at 6.12 meters. Senior Mason Mangum also finished second in the men’s long jump at 7.82 meters. Junior Khybah Dawson placed just behind Mangum, coming in third at 7.68 meters.
In the men’s high jump, graduate Carter Bajoit fell short of first place by 0.05 meters, finishing second in 2.12 meters. Graduate Devante Mount secured a third-place finish in the men’s 200-meter dash in 20.99 seconds.
Senior Sam Whitmarsh earned the Aggies a first-place result in the men’s 600m, clocking in at 1:16.90. Senior Jasmine Montgomery finished second in the women’s 200m dash in 22.96 seconds to close out the first day of the New Mexico Team Open.
In the John Thomas Terrier Classic, freshman Debora Cherono broke her own school record for the second straight week in the women’s mile run, finishing 17th out of 197 total athletes with a 4:38.08 time. Senior Elise Smoot finished 38th at 4:47.63. Both Cherono and Smoot also competed in the women’s 1500m, with Cherono finishing in 17th at 4:20.31 and Smoot placing 37th at 4:28.16.
Rounding out day one of the John Thomas Terrier Classic, sophomore Megan Roberts finished 18th out of 86 runners in the women’s 5000m, clocking in at 16:08.08. Redshirt sophomore Kennady Fontenot placed 23rd with a time of 16:15.23, and senior Maddie Livingston secured a 35th-place finish in 16:54.68.
On the second day of the New Mexico Team Open, Bii continued her dominance, finishing first in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 13.92 meters. Junior Jade Johnson followed up with a third-place result at 12.61 meters. The Aggies secured the top two results in the men’s triple jump, with junior Gavin Champ finishing first with a jump of 16.13 meters and freshman Jaydon Shield placing in second at 15.24 meters.
Senior Heather Abadie showcased why she is one of the top women’s pole vaulters in the nation, as she soared 4.30 meters for a first-place result. In the men’s pole vault, freshman Aleksandr Solovev secured a second-place result, clearing 5.80 meters.
Senior Ja’Qualon Scott outdueled former Aggie and current Tracksmith athlete Connor Schulman in the men’s 60-meter hurdle, finishing first with a time of 7.59 seconds. In the women’s 60-meter hurdle, junior Jaiya Covington nearly stole first place by 0.01 seconds, finishing second at 8.00 seconds.
Junior Camryn Dickson and senior Bria Bullard secured top-three finishes in the women’s 60-meter dash , with Dickson securing second in 7.32 seconds and Bullard finishing third in 7.34 seconds. In the men’s 400m dash, the Fightin’ Farmers placed in the top three spots. Redshirt senior Auhmad Robinson finished first with a time of 45.40, which was followed by junior Hossam Hatib in second at 45.80 and senior Kimar Farquharson in third, clocking in at 45.92 seconds.
In the women’s 400m dash, senior Kennedy Wade secured a second-place finish in 53.57, and senior Latasha Smith finished third at 53.94. In the men’s 4x400m, the Aggies had two different squads in the top three. The squad of Robinson, Farquharson, Hatib, senior Antonie Nortje and senior Cutler Zamzow secured a first-place result in 3:07.09, and the Aggies B-squad of Scott, junior DeMarco Escobar, senior Bryce McCray and sophomore Grant Ashby placed third in 3:08.64. Rounding out the New Mexico Team Open, the Aggies secured their final first-place finish in the women’s 4x400m relay, with a squad of Dickson, Smith, Wade, Montgomery and graduate Jermaisha Arnold recording a time of 3:37.08.
On day two of the John Thomas Terrier Classic, senior Cooper Cawthra secured a 10th-place result out of 281 competing athletes in the men’s mile run. He recorded a time of 3:54.38. Redshirt sophomore Diego Heredia finished in 41st at 4:02.18, and sophomore Gilbert Rono finished a few spots behind Heredia in 44th place at 4:02.52. Sophomore Luca Santorum trailed behind Rono by two spots, finishing 46th in 4:02.96. Ending the day, sophomore Jack Johnston finished 51st out of 129 athletes in the men’s 5000m run in 13:56.60 while graduate Jonathan Chung finished in 56th at 14:05.52.
A&M will return to College Station to compete in the Charlie Thomas Invitational at the R.A. ‘Murray’ Fasken ’38 Indoor Track & Field facility on Feb. 7 for a two-day event.
