Texas A&M track and field teams were welcomed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Saturday, April 22, in the LSU Alumni Gold Meet, where many of the top athletes took part.
The day started with men’s and women’s hammer throw. Sophomore Alessio Pirruccio finished the men’s throw with a season-best 184 feet, 3 inches/56.16 meters that was good for seventh place.
Next, sophomore Maci Irons continued her impressive season with a sixth-place finish with a 47-2.50/14.39m throw in the shot put.
Freshman Ethan Sanders put up a top-10 finish in men’s discus with a 166-05/50.73m throw and sophomore Hunter Harrison finished with a 152-10/46.59m throw.
Three Aggies found themselves finishing in the top-five in the women’s 1500-meter. Senior Abbey Santoro secured a personal best as well as a second-place finish with a 4 minute, 31.65 second time. Fellow senior Julia Abell finished third and sophomore Deidre Nelson rounded up fifth with times of 4:35.18 and 4:45.41, respectively.
The Fightin’ Farmers secured a 1-2 finish in the men’s 1500 as well as a fourth-place finish. Junior Chandon Chhikara grabbed first with a personal-best 3:48.80 and junior Eric Casarez finished as the runner-up with 3:49.64. Junior Teddy Radtke rounded up the last top-five spot with a time of 3:54.22 that secured fourth.
Sophomore Heather Abadie set a new school record in the pole vault, with a clearance over 14-2.75/4.34m. She holds five of the top-six clearances in school history, including the top-four marks. Freshman Ava Riche grabbed the fourth-spot with a clearance over 12-07.25/3.84m.
The women’s high jump belonged to the Aggies with a first-place finish by senior Lamara Distin, with a clearance over 6-4.75/1.95m, tying for third in school history.
Sophomore Bryce Foster put up a season-best in the shot put with a 63-0.25/19.21m throw, finishing second. Sanders put up another top-10 performance with a throw of 50-11.50/15.53m.
Junior Connor Schulman won the 110-meter hurdles, clocking in with 13.59 with 2.2m/s wind-aided. The performance ties for his second-best in all-conditions in his career.
Freshman Carter Bajoit took flight in the men’s high jump, taking home second with a 6-10.25/2.09m clearance.
Junior G’Auna Edwards finished runner-up in the women’s long jump, clearing over 20-1/6.12m. Junior Jacie Droddy grabbed a sixth-place finish, tying her personal best with a 19-4/5.89m clearance.
Freshman Jaiya Covington flew through the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a 13.32 finish. Sophomore Kennedy Wade grabbed a top-10 finish in the women’s 400 with a 52.80 time.
Three Aggies grabbed top-10 finishes in the men’s 400 with sophomore Auhmad Robinson at the top of the pack, with a time of 46.59 that was good for sixth. Sophomore Ashton Schwartzman crossed the line right behind him with a time of 46.62 and freshman DeMarco Escobar finished ninth with a time of 46.66.
Junior Sam Hankins scored a win for the Aggies in the men’s javelin, throwing for 234-2/71.37m, marking as his second-best throw in his career.
Senior Zach Davis tied with freshman Jack Man III for second place in the men’s pole vault, leaping for a 17-1/5.21m clearance. Junior Connor Gregston rounded up a fourth-place finish with a 17-1/5.21 on his second attempt, marking a new personal-best.
Junior MiKenna Robinson finished fifth in the women’s 800 with a time of 2:12.79, registering as her fourth-fastest time.
A personal-best by Cooper Cawthra saw him take third in the men’s 800, finishing with a time of 1:49.82.
Sophomore Bryce McCray ran for a season-best in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, finishing in second with 50.29. Junior James Smith II joined McCray with having a season-best in the event, grabbing sixth and finishing with 51.05.
Freshman Camryn Dickson dashed for a personal-best 22.86 in the women’s 200, finishing top-three. She moves in the 11th-spot in school history in the event.
Sophomore Isaiah Teer flew for a personal-best 20.63 in the men’s 200, grabbing a sixth-place spot.
The meet ended with A&M finishing out on top in both the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay. Wade, sophomore Jermaisha Arnold, senior Tierra Robinson-Jones and freshman Sanu Jallow combined for 3:28.42, while the men’s relay team composed of Schwartzman, Robinson, Escobar and junior Omajuwa Etiwe closed out the meet with a 3:03.18 finish.
Next, the team will head to Philadelphia to participate in the Penn Relays from April 27-29.