Texas A&M men’s and women’s track and field made a pair of trips out to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Raleigh, North Carolina on March 28-29 to compete at the Battle on the Bayou and the Raleigh Relays.
The Aggies made a split this weekend, as 60 of them headed to compete in Louisiana against 12 other teams and 11 of them headed to North Carolina to compete amongst a pool of over 200 teams.
The Maroon and White have been proven to show out in the past with six members being ranked in the top 10 in their respective events. In their outdoor season opener, the Aggies came home with plenty of accolades
Battle on the Bayou
Senior Heather Abadie got the ball rolling in Baton Rouge in pole vault with a clearance of 4.10m. The 2024 Southeastern Conference indoor and outdoor pole vault champion was able to maintain a tie for fifth place.
Junior Elise Smoot delivered a personal best record set in the 1500m clocking a 4:26.44. The Aggies were just starting to get hot as the first placement coming from the men came from freshman Thomas Jackman in the javelin securing a fourth-place finish by throwing a mark of 56.20m.
The first victory of the day for the Maroon and White in Baton Rouge was posted by senior Bryce McCray in the 400m hurdles. Crossing the line in 50.61, putting the four other competitors to sleep.
On the women’s side, junior Camryn Dickson, fresh off being named Southeastern Conference Runner of the Week this past week, earned a strong 5th place finish in the 200m. Outpacing a field of 45 competitors and crossing the line with a time of 22.93.
Sophomore McKenzie Fairchild has previously made her way onto the A&M all-time top 12 performers list sitting at No. 8 in women’s javelin at 55.04m. She proved herself in Baton Rouge as she posted a season best mark in women’s javelin with 49.09m/161-0. Climbing her way up the top-12 performers list.
The Fightin’ Farmers seemed to be fighting all around in the 200m as senior Auhmad Robinson and freshman Blake Holland both vied for a top-10 finish.
Another Aggie entered the all-time list at No. 3 in the 1500m. Freshman Debora Cherono finished with a time of 4:18.36 clutching eighth place. Sophomore Austin Owen broke 11 minutes in the women’s 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:59.78.
In the jumping events, A&M had two top-eight finishers and a victory from junior Khybah Dawson in the men’s long jump with a mark of 7.62m. Freshman Sofia Lakushina secured second place in the women’s long jump with a mark of 6.32m.
Pole vaulter Aleksandr Solovev made it three wins on the day for the Fightin’ Farmers with a clearance of 5.40m. Sophomore Noah Willows wrapped up the day for the Aggies with a remarkable third-place finish in the 5000m, setting a personal best time of 14:36.82.
On Day 2 in the bayou, the Aggies clinched a victory in the women’s 4x100m relay with a time of 43.44. Meanwhile, the men’s 4x100m relay earned themselves a fifth-place finish, posting a season-best mark of 39.92.
Junior Jaiya Covington madeAggie history in the 100m hurdles with a personal best time of 12.86, moving her into 5th place all-time in A&M history as well as making a national mark as No. 1 in the nation this year.
Junior Gavin Champ continued the success in field events for A&M as he opened his campaign in the outdoor triple jump with a 15.59m jump, claiming second place.
Unfortunately, inclement weather moved into Louisiana during the afternoon of the second day canceling events for the remainder of the day.
Raleigh Relays
Kicking off the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina was senior Cooper Cawthra as he not only finished in 5th place overall in the 1500m but broke the A&M record with a time of 3:36.79.
Not far behind him was sophomore Luca Santorum with a time of 3:39.58, capturing a top-eight finish. Also, good for a personal best run was sophomore Ondrej Gajdos with a time of 3:44.63.
In the women’s 1500m senior Elise Smoot finished with a time of 4:26.44, putting herself in the middle of the pack.
