Texas A&M freshman mid-distance runner Athing Mu broke the 800-meter collegiate record in the Michael Johnson Invitational Saturday night in Waco.
Mu’s record time of 1:57.73 in the 800-meter is her fourth collegiate record, first outdoor collegiate record and meets Olympic qualifying standards.
Mu shattered her previous record of 1:59.10, also setting an American junior record as she currently has the world-leading mark in the women’s 800-meter.
“I kind of self-consciously thought, ‘I may as well just come out here and run a collegiate record at 1:59,’” Mu told 12thman.com. “I just wanted to come out here and see where I’m at. This is my first 800-meter race this outdoors.”
In addition to Mu’s time meeting the Olympic qualifying standard, she holds collegiate records in the 800-meter at 1:58.40, 600-meter at 1:25.80, and as a member of the 4×400-meter relay at 3:26.27, in which she had a 50.27 split.
“Athing running 1:57.73 is one of the single greatest performances I’ve ever seen in collegiate track and field,” A&M coach Pat Henry told 12thman.com.
In Waco, the maximum temperature on Saturday was 59 degrees and the low was 50 degrees, with the wind blowing at 14.293 mph, making it the coldest meet conditions of the outdoor season so far.
“We about froze to death today,” head coach Pat Henry told 12thman.com. “The day portion of the meet was horrible because of the wind and the cold, but it got a little better as we went throughout the day.”
On the men’s side, freshman Brandon Miller won the men’s 800-meter to complete the sweep. He ran a personal best time of 1:47.33, which makes him the eighth best performer in program history. This is the second consecutive week that Miller has run a personal best time while winning the 800-meter.
Hurdlers Dominique Mustin and Moitalel Mpoke both finished their respective events as top collegians. Mustin ran a 58.49 in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, 0.01 seconds off her personal best, and Mpoke won the men’s 400-meter with a time of 50.53.
“Moitalel won the race easily, but he’s kind of stuck right now,” Henry told 12thman.com. “He needs a great race to run faster.”
Other standouts of the meet include Laila Owens who finished as the top collegian in the women’s 200-meter at 23.55 and Summer Thorpe who placed second in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a season best time of 13.19, which makes her the 10th best performer in A&M history.
Tierra Robinson-Jones was the second-best collegian in the 400-meter at 53.76 and Devin Dixon was the third best collegian in the men’s 400-meter with a time of 47.23. Rachel Bernardo closed out the long-distance events with a season best 10:47.66 in the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase to place second.
In field events, Josh Brown finished third in the premier discus competition with a throw of 177-8 (54.16m). Pablo Zolezzi bettered his personal best in the men’s open discus competition twice, finishing with a best throw of 169-9 (51.74m).
The Aggies are next scheduled to run in the LSU Alumni Gold meet in Baton Rouge, La., April 23-24.