This weekend, No. 1 Texas A&M Men’s Track and Field were in Columbia, South Carolina competing in the SEC Championships. The Aggies walked away with the team title, scoring 119 points. The team edged out defending champions Arkansas who finished in second place with 106 points.
One of the biggest stories of the weekend was Lindon Victor’s record breaking decathlon performance that allowed him to retain his title. Victor scored 8,539 points over two days to better the collegiate record he set at the Texas Relays back in March by 67 points. On his way to victory, the senior set a career best time in the 110-meter hurdles and a collegiate decathlon record in the discus throw. He was the only athlete to surpass 8,000 points in this competition.
“It’s always a good thing when you win and break a collegiate record,” Victor told 12thman.com. “I still think there is a lot to improve upon in the decathlon. I’m still disappointed in some of my events and really happy in others. It’s typical of the decathlon, though, to up and down. It’s all about having a level head and refocusing every time.”
The Aggies took individual titles in two field events. Junior Ioannis Kyriazis threw a conference record 80.15 meters in the javelin throw to claim his third consecutive conference title. Junior Audie Wyatt jumped 5.32 meters in the men’s pole vault to take top spot in the competition.
“I’m super happy and super excited to be part of this team,” Kyriazis noted to 12thman.com. “I just want to keep performing at a high level… Now I want to get a good throw at the NCAA West preliminaries to qualify for nationals, and then I’ll use my throws in Eugene to try to set a new PR.”
“I’m pleased with my first SEC outdoor title, but I can guarantee you we are not satisfied with the heights that we jumped today,” Wyatt said to 12thman.com. “We’re happy with the win, where we placed and to contribute that many points to the team despite a rain delay of three and half hours.”
Texas A&M also had several key wins on the track. Senior Fred Kerley ran a school record time of 44.3 in the 400-meter dash to take the title. Kerley recorded a world-leading time of 44.09 in the prelims on the previous day. Also snagging a win for the Aggies was freshman Devin Dixon, who took the lead on the homestretch of the 800-meter run, finishing in first place with a time of 1:45.71.
“Winning is always fun, but at the end of the day you’re still learning from every win,” Kerley said to 12thman.com. “Every win is not necessarily a perfect race. In the final I didn’t adjust anything for the weather, but I was racing instead of just running my race today.”
The Aggies’ 4×400 team impressed once again, winning the race with a world-leading time of 3:00.72. Running for Texas A&M was Richard Rose, Fred Kerley, Robert Grant, and Mylik Kerley.
The women’s team also competed at a high level this week, finishing the meet in sixth place with 72 points. Sophomore Jazmine Fray won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:02. The 4×400 team, made up of Briyahna Desrosiers, Kadecia Baird, Jazmine Fray, and Jaevin Reed, won their race with a time of 3:29.83. Arkansas won the women’s SEC team title with 127 points.
The teams’ next action will be on May 25-27 in Austin, Texas at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds. Athletes will attempt to qualify for the NCCA Championships held in Eugene, Oregon on June 7-10.
“This is a huge accomplishment for this group,” head coach Pat Henry told 12thman.com. “But this is just one achievement among other things they are trying to accomplish. This group is trying to become the national champions, and this is a great step in that direction.”
