On Saturday, April 2, Texas A&M competed against its in-state rival, the University of Texas, for the second time in a span of a week, this time on the track and field stage.
The women’s track and field team was outscored 102 to 100 and the men’s team fell short 105.5 to 96.5. However, the Aggies had a group of individuals who moved up in the ranks of the A&M top 12 all-time lists and marked times that separated them from the rest of the world.
Sophomore sprinter Devon Achane competed as a member of the 4×100-meter relay where the quartet placed second at 39.14, and ran two individual races, both resulting in him being on top of the podium. In his first event, Achane clocked in a 20.20 (w/1.3) in the 200-meter and a 10.12 (w/2.2) in the 100-meter.
“To run 10.12 in the 100-meter and 20.20 in the 200-meter, as well as a 39.14 relay is huge,” coach Pat Henry said. “I think Devon [Achane] is a very talented young man and with good competition and races in front of him, he’s going to continue to get better.”
In the women’s 200-meter, sophomore sprinter Laila Owens won her event by a landslide clocking in at 22.57, a whole second faster than the next runner. This time, her name rose on the A&M all-time list, making her the sixth fastest female performer in A&M’s history.
5th-year long jumper Deborah Acquah won the women’s long jump, leaping a 22-7.25/6.89 meters, which was 0.7 meters longer than the runner-up. Her jump moved her up to No. 2 all-time in the school’s history and seventh best jump in collegiate history.
Junior sprinter Cherokee Young was one of the last performers who made their mark among some of the best in the NCAA with her time in the 400-meter. Young sprinted a 50.00 second time in her event, making her the second-fastest runner in her event in A&M history and the fifth-fastest collegian all-time.
“It was a heck of a track meet and maybe one of the best dual meets I’ve ever been a part of,” Henry said. “My challenge as a coach was to try to put more points on the scoreboard than them, but the performances are most important right now than anything else we are doing.”
A&M men’s and women’s track and field will host the 44 Farms Team Invitational on April 8-9 in E.B. Cushing Stadium. The first event will begin at 12:15 p.m. on Friday.