The Texas A&M track team swept the Texas A&M Quadrangular Meet at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on Saturday. The Aggies finished first in both the men and women’s division ahead of Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Arizona State. Texas A&M placed first in 17 of the 30 total events.
The Aggie women finished with a total of 166.5 points, 37 points ahead of second place Texas Tech. Senior Brea Garrett won first place in both the shot put and weight throw for the women. Her mark of 69 feet 7.5 inches in the weight throw broke the meet record she set last year by over a foot. Garrett is also the school record holder in that that event. Fellow school record setter, senior sprinter Kamaria Brown, took first in the women’s 400 meter dash with a time of 52.96 seconds.
Junior Jennifer Madu displayed some versatility in capturing first place in the 60 meter dash and the women’s long jump. Madu was the only Aggie on Saturday to take the top spot in both a running and a field event. Sophomores Katie Willard (800 meters) and Kara Erickson (High Jump) were the other two first place finishers for the women.
The Aggie men fared just as well as their female counterparts in competition, racking up a total of 177.5 points to finish 41.5 points ahead of runner up Texas Tech. The Aggie men managed to sweep two events- the 200 meter dash and the pole vault. In the 200 meter dash, junior Devin Jenkins was able to edge out his teammate Shavez Hart by one one hundredth of a second to take first place. Hart, last week’s SEC sprinter of the Week, returned the favor by besting Jenkins in the 60 meter by two one hundredths of a second.
Senior sprinter Bralon Taplin’s time of 45.78 seconds in the 400 meters was the fastest time ever run in the event during a dual or triangular meet. Senior Josh Hernandez and junior Hector Hernandez finished first and second for the Aggies in the 800. A&M was also able to take first in both individual distance races thanks to the efforts of sophomore Cameron Villareal (the mile) and senior Isaac Spencer (3000 meters).
The Aggie men’s performance was just as admirable in the field events, where their aforementioned sweep of the pole vault lead the way. In the vault, junior Chase Wolfle was able to clear 17 feet to claim victory. Freshmen Audie Wyatt and Carl Johansson finished tied for second, right behind him. Sophomore Jeffrey Prothro was responsible for 12 of the Aggies points after placing first and second in the triple jump and long jump, respectively. Fellow sophomore Austin Cook took home second in the men’s weight throw.
Both the men and the women placed first in the 4×400 meter relay. The women finished with a time of 3:37.02. The men, bolstered by the return of 2014 Bowerman award winner Deon Lendore, posted a season best time of 3:07.28.
Texas A&M track and field’s next bit of action will be the Arkansas Razorback Invitational next weekend in Fayettevillle.