Texas A&M freshman Addison Applebaum hugs teammate after the women’s 1-mile during the Ted Nelson Invitional at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Jan. 20, 2024. (Mattie Taylor/The Battalion)
Photo by Mattie Taylor
Texas A&M distance runner react to teammates winning during the Ted Nelson Invitional at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Jan. 20, 2024. (Mattie Taylor/The Battalion)
Texas A&M senior Eric Casarez holds the rails after winning the mens 1-mile during the Ted Nelson Invitional at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Jan. 20, 2024. (Mattie Taylor/The Battalion)
Photo by Mattie Taylor
Texas A&M Eric Casarez finishes first during Ted Nelson Invitational at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (Ishika Samant/The Battalion)
Texas A&M senior Connor Schulman celebrates with Houston’s athlete during the Ted Nelson Invitional at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Jan. 20, 2024. (Mattie Taylor/The Battalion)
Photo by Mattie Taylor
Texas A&M senior Connor Gregston clears the bar during the Ted Nelson Invitional at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Jan. 20, 2024. (Mattie Taylor/The Battalion)
Photo by Mattie Taylor
Texas A&M senior Connor Gregston celebrates after clearing the bar during the Ted Nelson Invitional at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Jan. 20, 2024. (Mattie Taylor/The Battalion)
Photo by Mattie Taylor
Texas A&M sophomore Jack Mann III reacts after clearing the bar in Pole Vault during the Ted Nelson Invitational at Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (CJ Smith/The Battalion)
Texas A&M junior Kimar Farquharson prays before the start of the 400m during Ted Nelson Invitational at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (Ishika Samant/The Battalion)
Texas A&M sophomore Eric Hemphill III gets ready to start during Ted Nelson Invitational at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (Ishika Samant/The Battalion)
Texas A&M runners exchange the batton in the 4×400 Meter Relay during the Ted Nelson Invitational at Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (CJ Smith/The Battalion)
Texas A&M freshman Jasmine Harmon clears the final hurdle in the 60 M Hurdles during the Ted Nelson Invitational at Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (CJ Smith/The Battalion)
Texas A&M senior Connor Schulman jumps the hurdle during the Ted Nelson Invitational at Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (CJ Smith/The Battalion)
Athletes finish the 60m finals during Ted Nelson Invitational at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (Ishika Samant/The Battalion)
Texas A&M senior Connor Schulman finishes the 60m hurdles during Ted Nelson Invitational at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (Ishika Samant/The Battalion)
Texas A&M sophomore Ja’Qualon Scott celebrates after winning his heat in the 60 M Hurdles during the Ted Nelson Invitational at Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (CJ Smith/The Battalion)
Texas A&M freshman Ryley Klefstad reacts after clearing the bar in Pole Vault during the Ted Nelson Invitational at Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (CJ Smith/The Battalion)
Texas A&M freshman Omarion Ferguson sprints out the blocks in the 200 meters during the Ted Nelson Invitational at Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024. (CJ Smith/The Battalion)
Texas A&M runner during the Ted Nelson Invitional at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Jan. 20, 2024. (Mattie Taylor/The Battalion)
Photo by Mattie Taylor
Texas A&M runner during the Ted Nelson Invitional at the Murray Fasken Indoor Track on Jan. 20, 2024. (Mattie Taylor/The Battalion)
Photo by Mattie Taylor
The Texas A&M Track & Field team participated in the Ted Nelson Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 20, where it laid claim to six titles on the day. This was the second meet of the season for A&M at the R.A. “Murray” Fasken ’38 Indoor Track and Field facility.
“It was another good step on the ladder, we continue to make good progress and that is all we can expect,” coach Pat Henry said. “I see some good sparks and they are trying to make things happen for themselves. I told the team the effort is really good and if it is good, the rest will come. I don’t see anybody out there not competing, we are putting ourselves on the line.”
The first matches in the Running Events were the preliminary men’s and women’s 60-meter hurdles. In the men’s 60m, senior Connor Schulman took the top spot, clocking in with a time of 7.81 seconds; in addition, sophomore Jaqualon Scott grabbed the third spot with a time of 7.87, giving the Maroon and White a pair of top three finishes in this event.
Sophomore Jaiya Covington and freshman Jasmine Harmon both placed in the top 10 for the Aggies in the women’s 60m, with Covington finishing third with a time of 8.25 and Harmon nabbing eighth place with a 8.32 time.
In the men’s and women’s 60m, junior DeVante Mount finished third for the men at 6.71, and junior Semira Killebrew laid claim to second place in the women’s 60m with a 7.28 time. The Aggies won the top two spots in the men’s one-mile, as senior Eric Casarez and junior Victor Kibiego finished first and second with times of four minutes and 5.52 seconds and 4:06.38, respectively.
Covington and Harmon placed third and fourth in the finals for the women’s 60m hurdles, and Schulman landed the first place spot in the men’s 60m hurdles at 7.72.
The final events in the Running Events category were the 3000-meter and the 4×400-meter relay, and it was sophomore Nicole Chastain who led the way for the A&M in the women’s 3000m. Chastain finished with a personal-best 10:02.18 time, which got her the third place spot. Right behind her in fourth place was junior Katelyn Buckley, who also finished with a personal-best time of her own at 10:02.81.
Freshman Jack Johnston was the winner in the men’s 3000m, as he had a time of 8:23.49. The Maroon and White finished third in both the men’s and women’s 4x400m, which ended the day for the Running Events.
In the Field Events, the Aggies won the Women’s Pole Vault thanks to junior Heather Abadie, who finished in first with a jump of 4.17m. In second was senior Sevanna Hanson, who jumped for 4.02m. Freshman Carlie Weiser finished in second place for A&M in the Women’s Shot Put at 15.42m as well.
A&M did fantastic in both the men’s and women’s high jump, as seniors Lamara Distin finished in first place and Nissi Kabongo grabbed the second place spot. Junior Carter Bajoit finished second in the men’s high jump at 2.16m. In the women’s long jump, junior Jonair Thomas finished in first at 6.56m, and junior John Baker finished second in the men’s long jump with a 7.76m leap.
The final win for the Aggies came in the women’s triple jump, where sophomore Jade Johnson laid claim to first place with a jump of 12.52m.
A&M now has back-to-back meets with six wins to begin its season, and it looks to keep its good fortunes going as it heads to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Razorback Invitational on Friday, Jan. 26.
