Texas A&M track and field were in Sacramento, California this weekend competing in the NCAA West preliminary rounds. The top 12 finishers in each event earned a spot in the semifinals and finals of NCAA Championship to be hosted in Eugene, Oregon on June 6-9.
The Aggies qualified a total of 24 entries over 17 events with 26 athletes. The men’s team will have 12 entries from 12 athletes over nine events, while the women’s squad will make 12 entries from 14 athletes over eight events.
“We advanced a great group of athletes and we’re extremely pleased with the numbers,” A&M head coach Pat Henry said to 12thMan.com. “Even with those numbers advancing, we are minus four people who are big points for us. There’s nothing we can do about that now. We’ve had a couple of injuries and it’s a situation that is unavoidable. We have a good group going to Eugene and we’ll see what we can do.”
The Aggies qualified a handful of athletes on the track over the weekend. Sophomore Devin Dixon was the first to qualify for the men, running a time of 1:46.47 in the 800m to finish second overall and return to the Eugene for the second-consecutive season.
On the women’s side, freshman Sammy Watson cruised to victory in her heat with a time of 2:02.20 to finish third overall, while junior Jazmine Fray ran a time of 2:03.73 to finish ninth overall.
In the 400m hurdles, two men qualified from the same heat. Sophomore Infinite Tucker ran a time of 49.99, while junior Ilolo Izu ran a time of 50.12 to finish first and second in the heat. The two finished fifth and sixth overall, respectively.
With a time of 10.33 in the men’s 100m, sophomore Jace Comick tied for the final qualifying position with Houston’s Mario Burke to earn a trip to Eugene.
On the third and final day of prelims, senior Alex Riba finished 10th overall in the men’s 1,500m with a time of 3:43.70 to book his return visit to the NCAA Championships.
A&M also qualified three relay teams this weekend, including two women’s squads and one men’s squad.
The women’s 4×100 relay finished first in their section and placed fourth overall with a time of 43.88. On track for the Aggies were Amber Ivy, Diamond Spaulding, Brenessa Thompson and Julia Madubuike.
The Aggie women also qualified their 4×400 relay squad, placing fifth overall with a time of 3:31.55. Running for the maroon and white were Madubuike, Glorilisha Carter, Watson and Fray.
The men’s 4×400 relay team qualified with a time of 3:01.23, finishing second overall. The squad included Bryce Deadmon, Kyree Johnson, Izu and Dixon.
The majority of A&M’s qualifiers came from field events. Six athletes qualified on the opening day of competition, starting with seniors Kristin Clark and Maddy Stulce in the javelin throw. Clark finished third with a distance of 52.84m, while Stulce placed sixth with a distance of 51.88m.
Junior Jacob Wooten and senior Audie Wyatt each cleared 5.25m in the men’s pole vault to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships. Wooten finished in a three-way tie for first based on misses, while Wyatt placed seventh.
Tahar Triki qualified for both the long jump and triple jump over the weekend. On day one, the sophomore placed 10th in the long jump with a third round leap of 7.69m that saw him jump up from 14th. In the triple jump on the final day, Triki placed second with a distance of 16.17, matching the leading mark.
Also qualifying in the long jump was Tyra Gittens on the women’s side of the competition. The freshman leapt a distance of 6.02 in the third round to see herself jump up to 10th place from 40th. Gittens had already qualified for the NCAA Championship heptathlon earlier this season.
In the women’s triple jump, sophomore Lajarvia Brown placed third with a distance of 13.42, while fellow sophomore Ciynamon Stevenson placed eighth with a career best leap of 13.26.
Other qualifying Aggies from field events included sophomore Serena Brown in the women’s discus throw who finished eighth with a heave of 53.87, and sophomore William Petersson who finished 11th in the men’s javelin throw with a distance of 66.52.
The Aggies will now have a couple of weeks to prepare before they travel to Oregon to compete at Hayward Field against some of the best athletes that collegiate sports has to offer.