After months of training and preparation, the Texas A&M track team finally got the opportunity to compete in a real track meet against other schools. The Aggies kicked off the indoor track season by hosting both Houston and TCU in the eighth edition of the Reveille Invitational, which was held at Gilliam Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
A&M set four different meet records, including freshman Jazmine Fray, who fell just short of setting the school record in the 1,000 meters. Fray finished the race in two minutes, 50.39 seconds, which was just off pace of the school record of 2:49.01, set back in 2003 by Angeles Pantoja.
Others setting meet records were freshman Donovan Brazier in the mile with a time of 4:07.86, sophomore Audie Wyatt in the pole vault with a clearance of 17-5 and Daniel Martin in the pentathlon.
“It’s December and I talked to our team about being good in June,” Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry said via 12thman.com. “We’re fortunate to be able to get on the track today and compete. We have this meet so athletes can figure out where they are as a result of the training they’ve done to this point. No matter how hard you train, though, we can see who is competitive. That’s what we’ve seen today.”
Junior Katie Willard, who owns the A&M school record in the 1,000 meters, won the mile in the women’s section, edging out two fellow Aggies, senior Laura Craig and junior Katie Watson.
The Aggie women won the 4×400 relay, as junior Shamier Little, freshman Krystal Sparling, Fray and junior Aaliyah Brown ran a winning time of 3:39.65.
The quartet consisting of juniors Deon Hickey and Fred Kerley as well as freshmen Brazier and Richard Rose beat Houston in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:12.91
Sophomore Sara Kathryn Stevens set an indoor personal record by clearing 13-4 ¼ and sophomore Carissa Van Beek set a South African record in the weight throw with a throw of 62-4.
Sophomore Shaina Burns won the shot put with a 46-8 effort, moving her into the top 10 of A&M’s all-time list. Burns edged out teammate Celine Markert in the event, as Markert managed a 44-5 ½.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will be back in action on Jan. 8 and 9 in the Texas A&M High School Classic, held in College Station.
