Splitting into two squads, Texas A&M track and field continued its winning outdoor season by bringing home three top-five world times, six event wins, 11 all-time marks and 25 personal-best performances over March 29-30.
With 43 athletes competing in the two-day Battle on the Bayou at Bernie Moore Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and seven athletes competing Friday at Cobb Track and Angell Field at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, California, coach Pat Henry said at the end of Day 2 that the team is shaping up for a winning season.
“There were a lot of impressive performances this weekend,” Henry said. “I thought we competed very well in a tough field and saw our group take a step forward. If we continue to improve this is going to be a very good team.”
The dynamic duo of junior Ja’Qualon Scott and senior Connor Schulman continued to win in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Scott claimed first in the event with a record time of 13.34 seconds, and Schulman followed with a personal best of 13.42 seconds. Scott and Schulman now rank No. 2 and No. 3 in the world, respectively.
On Day 2, junior Sam Whitmarsh set an eye-popping top-five world time with his debut in the men’s 800-meters. Whitmarsh took first place at 1:44.46 minutes, which is No. 4 in the world this year, the eighth fastest time in NCAA history and No. 2 in the Texas A&M all-time lists.
The women’s 4×400 relay team of graduate Nissi Kabongo, juniors Jaydan Wood and Kennedy Wade and senior Jermaisha Arnold secured the final win for the Aggies with a season-best of 3:29.51 minutes, ranking second in the nation.
The men’s 4×400 team of Scott, senior Jevon O’Bryant and juniors Auhmad Robinson Kimar Farquharson placed second with a time of 3:00.80 minutes, ranking No. 7 in A&M history and No. 2 in the U.S. this season.
Robinson and Farquharson set personal bests on the men’s side with 45.42 seconds and 45.70 seconds in the 400-meter events to finish fourth and fifth, respectively. The top-five finishers are now the top-five ranked times in the nation. On the women’s side, Arnold placed second in a time of 51.24 seconds, ranking third in the U.S.
On Day 1 in Baton Rouge, junior Heather Abadie continued her winning ways and is now ranked No. 2 in the nation in the women’s pole vault outdoor season. She cleared the bar at 4.35 meters, which tied her program record. Sophomore Camryn Dickson placed first in the women’s 200-meters in a record 22.93 seconds for the No. 3 spot nationally for outdoors.
On the field side on Day 2, freshman Abigail Martin broke her personal best in the women’s discus with a throw of 56.92 meters to become the No. 1 freshman in the U.S. in the event and No. 11 overall. Kabongo finished third in the women’s high jump at 1.80 meters to place her No. 9 in the Aggie history books. Senior Timara Chapman followed with a career day, clearing 1.75 meters for fourth in the women’s high jump. Senior Carter Bajoit wrapped up the top-five finishers as he finished third with a clearance of 2.10 meters.
Freshman Carlie Weiser joined the all-time performance lists to rank ninth in the women’s discus with a toss of 51.32 meters, while sophomore Bailey Goggans moved up in the women’s 800-meters to fifth with a time of 2:04.24 minutes.
Also at the Battle on the Bayou, sophomore Jack Mann III continued to impress in the men’s pole vault, placing third with a clearance of 5.30 meters.
In the javelin, junior Lianna Davidson claimed her second win of the outdoor season with a record throw of 54.69 meters. Junior Katelyn Fairchild was just behind in second with a throw of 52.59 meters.
Katelyn’s sister, freshman McKenzie Fairchild, placed fifth with a throw of 50.01 meters. Senior Joshua Mather ranked third on the men’s side, throwing at 68.70 meters and senior Julian Stoicoviciu placed fifth at 63.31 meters.
On the track side, Scott finished fourth in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 50.68. Junior Kirk Collins Jr. trailed Scott, finishing 10th with a time of 52.48 seconds. Kabongo finished fifth in the women’s 400m hurdles with a time of 57.49 seconds.
At the Stanford Invitational, freshman Kennady Fontenot finished fourth in the women’s 5000-meter with a time of 16 minutes 26.91 seconds.
Junior Victor Kibiego debuted in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase, finishing ninth with 8:45.91, which was also good enough for No. 3 in the record books. Junior Cooper Cawthra ran the second-fastest performance in A&M history in the men’s 1500-meter, with a time of 3:42.58, finishing No. 2 on the A&M all-time list.
The Texas A&M track and field team next hosts the 44 Farms Team Invitational at E.B. Cushing Stadium on April 5-6. Follow @AggieTFXC for more information.
