Records were broken in spite of the rain by Texas A&M track and field at the Penn Relays on April 27-29.
Day 1
The women’s and men’s 3000-meter steeplechase saw school and personal bests. Distance senior Julia Abell set a new school record for the women’s race by finishing at 10 minutes, 13.74 seconds. Abell beat the previous record, held by distance graduate Annie Fuller, by just over 10 seconds and finished in seventh place.
Finishing in sixth, mid-distance junior Teddy Radtke earned his personal best time of 8:54.00. Radtke’s time is currently the fastest in the conference. Fellow Aggie runner distance senior Francesco Romano finished in 9:09.90.
In the men’s 5000, three Aggies crossed the finish line. Distance junior Eric Casarez clocked 13:51.02 and finished seventh. Running his second-best time, distance junior Chandon Chhikara completed in 14:16.02. Crossing the line with his personal best time of 14:24.41 was distance sophomore Jonathan Chung.
Day 2
The women’s sprint medley relay group of freshmen Camryn Dickson and Sanu Jallow as well as sophomores Kennedy Wade and Jermaisha Arnold secured first place and the first wheel of the 2023 Penn Relays with a combined time of 3:50.64.
Winning their heat and earning a spot in the final on Day 3 were senior Jania Martin, sophomore Semira Killebrew, freshman Leeah Burr and Dickson in the 4×100 relay. They ran it in 44.49.
As for the men’s 4×100, they finished at 41.22, registering them for the final. The squad was made up of junior Ryan Martin with sophomores Jordan Chopane, Isaiah Teer and DeVonte Mount. The group also ran the 4×200 in which they placed third with a time of 1:25.23.
Freshman Jaiya Covington won her heat in the 100 hurdles with a time of 13.74 to move on to the finals on Day 3. Junior Connor Schulman also moved on to the finals after winning his heat with a time of 14.01 in the 110 hurdles.
The men’s and women’s 4×400 both won their respective heats and moved on to the finals. The women’s group featuring senior Tierra Robinson-Jones, Wade, Jallow and Arnold completed the mile in 3:39.17. The men’s squad consisting of junior Omajuwa Etiwe and freshman De Marco Escobar with sophomores Ashton Schwartzman and Auhmad Robinson ran it in 3:09.41.
Day 3
The ladies in maroon and white won the 4×100 and 4×400 relay races on the final day. The 4×400 team, completed the race in 3:25.97. For the 4×100, Martin, Dickson, Burr and Killebrew clocked a 43.63 time. Arnold also earned the award for Women’s Relay Athlete of the Meet.
Covington finished with a time of 13.38 in third place in the women’s 100m hurdles. Schulman ended the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.77, and he claimed fourth place.
In the 4×100 men’s final, the relay group clocked in at 39.74.
The men’s 4×400 finished in second place to TCU with a time of 3:04.52, and was run by Schwartzman, Etiwe, Escobar and junior James Smith II, who ran in place of Auhmad Robinson.
The 4×800 group of sophomores Cooper Cawthra, Caden Norris, Sam Whitmarsh and junior Gavin Hoffpauir clocked 7:14.50 and finished fourth.
A&M track and field will compete next at the SEC Championships starting on Thursday, May 11, at 12 p.m.