The Texas A&M men claimed the title while the woman earned second place at the UTSA Texas Challenge Invitational this weekend in the outdoor track season opener.
The Aggies totaled 14 individual titles, including nine for the men and five for the women. Shavez Hart highlighted the day with a double victory in the 100- and 200-meters for the men. The Aggie men claimed the team scoring title with 197.5 points while the women finished runner-up with 147 points.
“I was real pleased with some things that happened here today,” said Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. “We accomplished some things that we needed to get done here. It was the first time outdoors for us this season, so it was good to see our throwers competing well.”
Hart recorded times of 10.24 and 20.50 in winning the 100- and 200-meters, respectively. The Aggies swept the top three spots in the 100-meter with Michael Bryan (10.47) finishing in second place and Prezel Hardy Jr. (10.60) finishing third. Bryan was also runner-up in the 200 with a time of 20.95. Hart said he looking to redeem himself in this new outdoor season.
“I wanted to come out and set my marks early in the outdoor season,” Hart said. “That way I can get my name out there. I felt I had a subpar indoor national, so I want to have a better outdoor nationals. Today, I wanted to make up some ground.”
The Aggie men and women’s 4×100 relays both set collegiate leading times in claiming titles. The A&M women are currently the second-fastest time in the world, posting a time of 44.06 seconds, while the men clocked in at 38.98 seconds – the third fastest time in the world. The men’s 4×400 relay included Greg Coleman, Hardy, Deon Hickey and Roudette, claimed the title with a 3:08.68 time victory.
Freshman Shamier Little took home the women’s 400 hurdles title in 59.47 seconds while Coleman clocked a mark of 51.23-seconds, good for second place in the men’s 400 hurdles.
For the field events, Dalton Rowan captured the title in men’s discus with a mark of 189-0 (57.62) while Shelbi Vaughan claimed the win in the same event with 182-10 (55.74). Vaughan said she was prepared to start her track season on the right note.
“I was ready to get back into competition mode,” Vaughan said. “It was amazing to be back in a competition, but the conditions and weather wasn’t very good when we threw. I’m glad I had a meet like this to face some competition before we go to Texas Relays next week.”
Other field event victories for A&M included Melissa Mays in the women’s triple jump, Jeffrey Prothro in the men’s triple jump, Chase Wolfle in the pole vault, Alison Ondrusek in the hammer and Devin Bogert in the men’s javelin.