Staying on the road after a successful run at Hayward Field, Texas A&M track & field sent two squads to the historic Penn Relays in Philadelphia and the J. Fred Duckett Twilight meet in Houston from April 24-26.
The Aggies dropped from their No. 1 spots in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association Poll, but remain in the top three as the men rank No. 2 and the women No. 3. They faced 21 schools at Wendel D. Ley Track & Holloway Field in Houston and 191 opponents at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
Penn Relays
Five titles were claimed over the three-day competition at the oldest and largest track meet held in the United States, dating back to 1895.
Distance events highlighted Thursday, including two wins in the women’s and men’s 3000m steeplechase events.
Freshman Debora Cherono claimed the title on the women’s side in 9:57.07 seconds, breaking her own school record for a new personal best. Redshirt sophomore Kennady Fontenot crossed the finish line in third for a new No. 2 A&M all-time rank in 10:00.93.
Senior Victor Kibiego took the men’s title in the same event, finishing the steeplechase in 8:37.33.
Friday brought three new top-three finishes for the Aggies in the relay championships.
A new school record was ushered in by the men’s distance medley relay team consisting of sophomore Luca Santorum, senior Cutler Zamzow, senior Sam Whitmarsh and senior Cooper Cawthra. The four men took third overall in the event with a time of 9:26.83.
Relay success continued with the men’s sprint medley, where freshman Blake Holland, freshman Ernest Campbell, junior DeMarco Escobar and graduate Caden Norris took third place in 3:16.68.
Holland, junior Eric Hemphill III, senior Mason Mangum and redshirt senior Auhmad Robinson claimed the final relay podium finish of the day in the men’s 4x200m in 1:22.23 for second place.
Saturday rounded out the event that over 100,000 spectators attended, according to FloTrack. The Aggies claimed three new titles to add to their program total of 35.
Senior Latasha Smith, junior Camryn Dickson, senior Bria Bullard and junior Jasmine Montgomery took the first title of the day in the women’s 4x100m in 43.75. The team of women ran the second-fastest time in Penn Relays history in the event.
The second title of the day was claimed by the current NCAA No. 5 men’s 4x400m relay team of Zamzow, Hemphill, senior Kimar Farquharson and Robinson in 3:02.36.
The final championship title was awarded to junior Ja’Qualon Scott in the men’s 110m hurdles final with a time of 13.64. Scott aided the men’s 4x100m relay team of Campbell, Mangum and Holland earlier in the day to a third place finish in their event, clocking in at 39.91.
On the women’s side of the 4x400m, Smith, Dickson, Montgomery and redshirt senior Jaydan Wood ran 3:29.12 for second place.
Hurdles wrapped up the day with two top-three finishes in the women’s 100m hurdles championship final. Junior Jaiya Covington ran a 13.00 flat to secure second place, while sophomore Jasmine Harmon crossed in 13.17 for third place in the event.
Fred Duckett Twilight Meet
Back in Texas, field events stole the show at the Rice hosted meet.
Pole vault claimed the first wins of the day for both the men’s and women’s sides, with freshman Aleksandr Solovev marking a new A&M all-time performers list ranking of No. 4. Solovev cleared 5.61 meters for the win on the men’s side, while teammates sophomore Leo Bowen and junior Jack Mann III claimed the second and third spots both with vaults of 5.16 meters, respectively.
In the women’s pole vault, senior Heather Abadie topped the podium with her clearance of 3.96 meters, her third event win this season. Mirroring the men’s side, her teammates redshirt senior Riley Floerke and junior Ava Riche came second and third, both with marks of 3.81 meters, respectively.
Sophomore Abigail Martin continued the wins on the field in the women’s discus, throwing her farthest attempt at 54.41 meters. Sophomore Carlie Weiser tossed 50.22 meters in the event for second place. On the men’s side, junior Ethan Sanders threw to 52.67 meters for a fourth place finish.
Wrapping up the field events was the women’s javelin throw, where sophomore McKenzie Fairchild launched her javelin 48.97 meters to secure the win. Junior Ana De La Garza claimed fifth in the event with her farthest throw of 42.50 meters.
Out on the track, there were four wins in the single day meet, two in the 5000m distance events and the remaining in the women’s open 400m and the men’s open 200m.
Sophomore Shewaye Johnson ran a personal-best mark of 16:26.81 for the win, which places her in the No. 7 spot on the A&M all-time performers list. Sophomore Carter Gordy took the title on the men’s side, completing the 5000m run in 14:27.86 for a career best.
Freshman Tyler Lowe claimed the win in the open women’s 400m, running a 54.48. Freshman Iliya Dryaba ran the final win of the day for the Aggies in the men’s open 200m, clocking in at 21.97.
Returning Home
After two weeks away, the Aggies will return home to E.B. Cushing Stadium for the Alumni Muster on May 3, both teams’ final regular season meet.
