Texas A&M Track and Field sweeps both men and women team titles on Saturday for a combined 17 victories to end the A&M Invitational.
Day two of the invitational got underway at E.B. Cushing Stadium after a two hour rain delay. But the weather didn’t slow down the Aggies, as they were able to produce 14 victories on the final day for the event.
“Our athletes responded really well. I’m extremely pleased with that since we talk about the elements being part of our sport,” A&M head coach Pat Henry said. “You’re just not going to have any big time performances on a day like today. It’s just about beating people today. That’s all it’s about.”
A four-woman-team won the first event of the day for the Aggies in the 4×100 meter relay. The group consisting of sophomore Gabrielle McDonald, freshman Jania Martin, junior Amber Ivy and senior Diamond Spaulding was able to top University of Houston 44.71-45.52.
A&M women’s team was able to sweep the 400 meter dash, as three Aggies claim the top spots. Junior Jaevin reed won the event with a 54.56, freshman Tierra Robinson-Jones came in second-place with 54.75, while senior Jarra Owens finished third overall at 56.33.
Sophomore Kyree Johnson (47.15) had a big day with a victory in the men’s 400 meter dash over University of Texas at El Paso’s Sean Bailey (47.31).
In the women’s high jump, A&M’s Lajarvia Brown and Kirby Matocha tied for first overall with a 5-7.75 (1.72m) mark.
The strong showing for the A&M women continued as they swept the 800 meter run, earning the top three spots. Senior Jazmine Fray placed first overall at 2:10.79, sophomore Jean Jenkins was the runner-up at 2:12.02 and junior Brittany Parker came in third at 2:12.96.
In the women’s 400 meter hurdles, sophomore Gabrielle McDonald (1:02.65) defeated Houston’s Erin Derrow (1:04.07) and fellow Aggie Riley Schneider (1:05.04).
On the men’s side, junior DeWitt Thomas edged out teammate Infinite Tucker 53.09-53.20 to win the 400 meter hurdles.
Junior Ciynamon Stevenson won the women’s triple jump for the Aggies with a career-best 13.31 meter jump.
Danyel White (23.17) came in first-place in the women’s 200 meter dash over Hannah Jackson (23.62) of Rice.
The Aggies were able to defeat Arizona State in the women’s 4×400 meter relay. The team of freshman Jania Martin, sophomore Syaria Richardson, sophomore Julia Madubuike and senior Jaevin Reed, won the event with a 3:45.71.
“You need to understand you can be a difference maker,” Henry told his team as they looked to finish strong in the last events of the weekend.
A&M did just that, as both the men and women had strong runs to clinch the victory on both sides.
Sophomore Rachel Bernardo won the women’s 1500 meter run after posting an impressive 4:34.97 run.
The men’s team was dominant, as they were able to sweep the 1500 meter dash with the top four spots. Zephyr Seagraves (3:59.68) placed first overall, Taylor Clayton (3:59.96) was runner-up, Jon Bishop (3:59.98) came in third and Brandt Preston (3:59.99) finished it off in fourth.
After winning the invitational, both the men and women’s teams have solidified their second overall national ranking by the U.S Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
A&M will return action next Friday and Saturday April 19-20, in the Michael Johnson Classic at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium in Waco.