The Texas A&M women’s and men’s track and field teams competed against LSU and other top schools including Texas, Alabama and Auburn on Saturday as Deborah Acquah set the school record in the women’s long jump at Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
The Aggies showed dominance with wins in the women’s 400-meter and women’s 4×400-meter relay. The men’s and women’s teams finished with 11 top-three finishes and four event titles. A&M will look to keep the momentum going next weekend at the Alumni Muster meet at E.B. Cushing Stadium.
Head coach Pat Henry returned to Baton Rouge where he formerly spent nearly two decades as the track and field coach and won 27 national championships.
“I’ve spent 17 years in one place,” Henry told 12thman.com. “I have deep feelings for LSU, but I’m the head coach at Texas A&M, and there isn’t a better place on the planet than Texas A&M.”
Acquah won the women’s long jump at 22-4.25 (6.81m), which bested her previous school record by 7.25 inches. Her jump made her the No. 3 long jumper in the NCAA this season.
Charokee Young won the women’s 400-meter with an outdoor personal best time of 51.49, bettering her time by 0.3 seconds. She remains No. 3 in her event across the NCAA and has moved up to No. 5 on the A&M all-time top-12 outdoor list.
Young then took part in the women’s 4×400-meter relay with Tierra Robinson-Jones, Jaevin Reed and Athing Mu where they won with a time of 3:27.16, the fifth fastest relay group in A&M history.
“Jaevin is an experienced runner; she did a very good job today,” Henry told 12thman.com. “She didn’t back off of anything, and hasn’t ran that fast yet this year; but she did when the pressure was on.”
The men’s 4×400-meter team – composed of Brandon Miller, Devin Dixon, Moitalel Mpoke and Bryce Deadmon – placed second with a time of 3:03.86.
Before the relay, Deadmon competed in the men’s 400-meter, where he ran an all-time personal best of 44.58, which placed him second. Deadmon is the third fastest performer in school history at this event and has moved to No. 2 in the NCAA.
Mpoke and Dominique Mustin both recorded personal best times in the 400-meter hurdles. Mpoke placed second at 49.61, which is the seventh fastest in A&M history and the second fastest time in the NCAA this season. Mustin placed fourth at 57.52, which is fifth fastest in program history and the eighth fastest time in the NCAA.
Annie Fuller placed second in the women’s 1500-meter with a season best time of 4:24.94 to become the eighth best performer in school history.
In other field events, Lamara Distin finished second in the women’s triple jump at 43-5.25 (13.24m), serving as the eighth best mark in school history. Distin is No. 14 overall in the NCAA and is No. 6 in the NCAA West Region. Ciynamon Stevenson leaped 42-6.75 (12.97m) to place third.
Sam Hankins had a throw of 230-1 (70.13m) in the men’s javelin to place third, becoming the 12th best performer in school history and is currently ranked No. 11 in the NCAA West Region and No. 20 in the NCAA.
The Aggies’ next meet will be the Alumni Muster meet on May 1 in College Station at E.B. Cushing Stadium.