Texas A&M track and field began their postseason at the Shively Track and Field Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky for the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships on May 15-17.
The No. 2 men’s team brought home two gold, three silver and two bronze medals to aid them in their fourth overall finish as the No. 4 women’s team returned with one gold, two silver and five bronze to earn them second place.
The gold rush started on Friday where the team’s two Russian nationals cleaned up on the track and the field.
Freshman Sofia Yakushina topped the podium in the women’s heptathlon — the first freshman to do so since 2018. Her star performance claimed four out of seven event wins throughout the two-day competition, racking up 6,075 points overall. Yakushina started her lead on day one, where she placed third in the 100-meter hurdles with a 13.71-second run, second in high jump with a leap of 1.71 meters, fourth in shot put with an 11.84 meter throw and wrapped up with a win in the 200-meter dash which she completed in 23.70
The freshman’s success could not be stopped on day two where she won all of her events. Yakushina leapt the farthest at 6.35 meters in long jump, launched 39.98 meters in javelin throw and crossed in 2:14.41 in the 800m.Yakushina claimed her second medal of the weekend just moments after her golden heptathlon performance. The freshman earned bronze in women’s long jump, finding her farthest leap in her second attempt at 6.18 meters.
Junior Alexsandr Solovev claimed the first gold of the weekend for the men in his pole vault performance. Solovev cleared the competition by a 0.17 meter margin, making history by setting a new school record, NCAA No. 1 mark and his personal best at 5.72 meters.
To continue the men’s success, sophomore Leo Bowen finished seventh in pole vault to claim two points for the men, clearing 5.40 meters for a new personal best.
Senior Sam Whitmarsh grabbed the final gold for the Aggies in the men’s 800m. Whitmarsh ran a season-best and new NCAA No. 5 1:45.35 to reign supreme in the event after back-to-back wins from the 2024 championship. Sophomore Luca Santorum picked up another two points for the men from his seventh place time of 1:47.16.
Junior Victor Kibiego opened the tab for silver medals, earning the first on Friday by running 8:44.80 in the men’s 3000m steeplechase. In the women’s steeplechase, freshman Debora Cherono gained the first bronze medal of the weekend in 9:58.16. Sophomore Kennady Fontenot claimed five additional points for the Aggies, finishing in fourth place in 10:05.31.
Junior Winny Bii marked a new NCAA No. 2 in women’s triple jump on Saturday for a silver medal. Bii leapt a personal-best of 14.01 meters in her second attempt to make the podium. Senior Victoria Kadiri earned the women four points with her fifth place finish in the event, leaping 13.41 meters.
A silver medal shined again for the Aggies as senior Cooper Cawthra crossed the finish line in 3:52.14 in the men’s 1500m. Santorum picked up six points for the men as well, placing fourth with a 3:52.62 mark.
Junior Jasmine Montgomery ran to the next silver medal finish in the women’s 200m. The current NCAA No. 1 ran a 22.39 to secure a spot on the podium. Junior Camryn Dickson picked up two points for the women in the event, finishing seventh with a time of 22.97.
The final silver of the weekend shone for the Aggie men’s 4x400m team of junior Hossam Eddine Hatib, senior Cutler Zamzow, senior Kimar Faquharson and redshirt senior Auhmad Robinson. The current NCAA No. 5 holders ran a 3:02.46. The women’s team of senior Kennedy Wade, Dickson, Montgomery and senior Jaydan Wood claimed two points in the women’s 4x400m for their seventh place 3:34.71 performance.
The women’s 4x100m picked up the next bronze medal, with the team of senior Latasha Smith, Dickson, senior Bria Bullard and Montgomery, running the relay in 43.06.
Senior Heather Abadie — last year’s SEC Outdoor women’s pole vault champion — tied for bronze in this year’s event. The senior cleared 4.26 meters to match University of Kentucky senior Payton Phillips.
Junior Jaiya Covington — reigning NCAA Indoor women’s 60m hurdles Champion — ran to a podium finish in the women’s 100m hurdles. Covington ran a 12.93 mark, adding a bronze to the women’s count.
For the men, senior Ja’Qualon Scott mirrored his hurdle teammate in the 110m and 400m hurdles, picking up a double-bronze with a personal-best of 13.15 and 49.07 performances. Senior Bryce McCray earned four points in the men’s 400m hurdles with a season-best of 49.98.
On Thursday, Sophomore McKenzie Fairchild earned five points for the women’s team in the javelin throw, throwing a season-best 54.14 meters on her fourth attempt. Freshman Megan Roberts claimed the final points for Thursday in the women’s 1000m, earning two points for a seventh place time of 34:51.47.
Friday’s non-medal points were claimed by freshman Milena Chevallier, who jumped equal to her personal best of 1.78 meters in women’s high jump, claiming three points for her sixth place finish.
Saturday’s non-medal points began in the men’s 4x100m, where freshman Ernest Campbell, senior Mason Mangum, Scott and Robinson crossed in a season-best 39.23 for seventh and two team points. Zamzow and Robinson both claimed the final points in the men’s 400m, finishing in fifth place in 46.00 for four points and eighth in 46.65 for one point, respectively.
The women racked up 81.5 points to rank No. 2 at the end of the meet in the overall standings, falling to the University of Georgia at 103 points. The men’s points tallied up to 77, earning them fourth overall in the team standings.
The Aggies will return home to E.B. Cushing Stadium for the NCAA West First Round on May 28-31 before heading to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon on June 11-14 for their final meet of the season.
