Texas A&M track and field hosted 14 opponents for the Charlie Thomas Invitational at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium this weekend and came away with the women in first place with 140 points and the men in second behind Houston with 123 points.
One of Saturday’s highlights includes Deborah Acquah’s triple jump win, which broke the Texas A&M indoor record with 45’ 2.25”. The Texas A&M track and field Instagram account posted a video of Acquah saying that she had not triple jumped in three years.
“She [Deborah Acquah] had a big-time jump, especially since it’s this early in the season to have that kind of jump,” A&M head coach Pat Henry told 12thman.com. “She’s a talented young lady, and she works hard. She really only took two jumps today. We’re just trying to stay healthy right now, and that’s the key for us.”
The Aggie women team kicked off the first day of competition on Friday with sophomore Tyra Gittens finishing second (8.67) and seniorVirginia Preiss third (8.86) in the 60-meter hurdles. Other field event wins for the women included Allyson Andress in third place in the high jump (1.73m) and Gittens placing first in both long jump (6.25m) and shot put (13.88m).
Gittens racked up a total of 4,276 points and bettered her previous best of 4,197 points at the NCAA Indoor Championship.
“This is a good way to start the meet,” Henry told 12thman.com.
Victories for the men’s team included Eric Casarez finishing first in 500-meter (14:12.64), with Jon Bishop (14:21.69) and Jackson Jett (15:05.35) following in second and third. The Aggie men placed second in the final 400-meter distance medley relay (9:57.75).
Ashley Driscoll finished first in the 500-meter (16:17.95) following Kelsie Warren in second (16:29.39). The Aggie women placed fourth in the final 400 meter distance medley relay (11:56.22).
Other Saturday victories for the women’s team include Brittany Parker in the 800-meter (2:09.02) and Kaylah Robinson in the 60-meter hurdles with a new personal record of 8.27. The 4×400 relay team finished second with Amber Ivy, Jaevin Reed, Jania Martin and Brittany Parker with a time of 3:39.74.
As for the men’s team, CJ Stevenson won in the triple jump with a mark of 49’ 7”. Jon Bishop took third in the mile but broke his personal record with a time of 4:05.89 and Zephyr Seagraves came in fourth right behind him. Mason Farley and Jake Lamberth tied for second in high jump and Logan Freeman took third place in men’s pole vault with a 16’ 9 ¼” jump.
The Aggies’ next meet will be the Tiger Paw Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina next weekend, February 14th and 15th.