Texas A&M track and field hosted Texas Christian University and University of Texas at El Paso in the Aggie Triangular at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium on Saturday. 
A&M swept the team titles, as the men’s team won 10 events and totaled 120 points, while the women’s team finished on top in eight events and totaled 117 points.
“These kinds of competitions are really difficult for young people,” A&M head coach Pat Henry told 12thman.com. “Because a majority of them have never had a dual meet or triangular, even through high school. So, they think a small meet is not something they can’t progress in. I saw some good things happen today, but I also saw some things in people who were not motivated enough to do the competition. We need to continue to learn.”
The highlight of the day saw Carlton Orange finish runner-up in the 600 meter in a field made up of both professional and collegiate athletes. Orange’s time of 1:16.51 is a school record and places him 10th all-time on the collegiate level.
“It’s always great getting to race against national champions and Olympians,” Orange told 12thman.com. “I like how they pushed me and I was able to push them during the race. I’ve never run the open 600 competitively, but today is a good indicator of where I am with my shape and what I can do next at 800m.”
Henry said even though Orange sat out last year due to NCAA transfer rules, he is proving to be an asset for A&M.
“Carlton is a talent,” Henry told 12thman.com. “…he is a guy who will run a good 800 and I think he will be involved with our 4×400 as well.”
Victories for the men’s team included Devin Dixon in the 400 meter (46.95), Tyler Guillory in the 60 meter hurdles (8.02), David Torkington in the 800 meter (1:56.47) and Jon Bishop in the mile (4:10.54).
The men’s team also took the top spot in the 4×400 relay, where Bryce Deadmon, Ilolo Izu, Kyree Johnson and Dixon clocked a time of 3:07.33. The women’s team that included, Tierra Robinson-Jones, Syaira Richardson, Jazmine Fray and Julia Madubuike also won their mile relay with a time of 3:38.08.
Other wins for the women included Diamond Spaulding in the 200 meter (23.61), Richardson in the 400 meter (53.18) and Ashton Hutcherson in the mile (4:59.52).
The men also had success in the field events, including Gabe Oladipo who continued his success in the weight throw with a personal-best distance of 19.72 meters.
“The whole process has been great and I’ve been having a lot of fun with learning a new event,” Oladipo told 12thman.com. “That’s kind of an underrated aspect of training. You have to have fun with it and I’ve been enjoying the weight throw. Everything is coming together.”
Other field event winners included Jake Lamberth in the high jump (2.05m), Jacob Wooten in the pole vault (5.36m), Tahar Triki in the long jump (7.38m) and CJ Stevenson in the triple jump (14.62m).
Two women secured for victories in the field events on Saturday, as Celine Markert won both the shot put (13.85m) and the weight throw (16.25m), while LaJarvia Brown won the long jump (5.78m) and high jump (1.75m).
The Aggies’ next meet will come at the Texas Tech Classic on Jan. 25-26 in Lubbock at the Sports Performance Center.