Texas A&M was victorious in 11 events as the Big 12 scored both titles in the Texas A&M Conference Challenge at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in front of 2,202 fans Saturday.
The Big 12 won the men’s competition with 271 points, handily defeating the Southland (152), the Sunbelt (110) and the SWAC (53) conferences. The Big 12 women tallied 362.5 points to outduel the 104 garnered by the Southland troupe, as well as the Sunbelt (69.5) and the SWAC (44).
The Big 12 was represented by Texas A&M, Baylor and Oklahoma, while the Southland consisted of Northwestern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin and Texas-Arlington. From the Sunbelt were Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe and North Texas. The SWAC included Prairie View A&M, Southern-Baton Rouge and Texas Southern.
Perhaps the most impressive victory came from the Aggies’ 4 x 400 relay squad, whose foursome of Bryan Miller (47.65), Demetrius Pinder (45.56), Tabarie Henry (47.05) and Tran Howell (46.25) produced a time of 3:06.49. Their time just edged the NCAA automatic standard of 3:06.50. It’s the fifth-fastest mark on the school’s alltime list.
“This weekend was about taking that first step, trying to get the best out of each individual,” Head Coach Pat Henry said. “We have some good quarter-milers right now, and they were ready to run today. It was good to see them get an automatic mark with that win.”
Baylor (3:10.26) and Oklahoma (3:10.56) finished behind the Aggies,while a second A&M unit won its section and placed fourth overall in 3:11:29 with members Joey Roberts, Ashton Young, Oscar Ramirez and Michael Preble.
Prezel Hardy, Jr. was one of three freshmen who claimed wins for the Aggies as he set a career high of 6.68 to claim the 60 meters and move to No. 3 on the A&M all-time list. Hardy edged Texas-Arlington Cordero Gray, who clocked 6.69, for first place while Aggie teammate Howell finished third in 6.72 and Baylor’s Whitney Prevost placed fourth in 6.73.
“I felt if I got after it, from start to finish, then I should have a good outcome,” Hardy said. “Being pretty pleased would be an understatement compared to how I’m feeling right now. It’s a personal best for me and everyone can see it’s a big improvement for me. I look forward to improving even more.”
Then Tyler Lee won a jump-off in the high jump, an event that nearly lasted three hours.