News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
The Texas A&M track & field team continues its postseason run at the NCAA West First Round held at John McDonnell Field, May 27-30.
The Maroon & White set their focus on the NCAA West regional where athletes look to secure their spot in Eugene for the NCAA Championships. Looking back to last year’s first round, the Maroon & White booked 25 tickets to the outdoor championships, with 13 coming on the men’s side and 12 on the women’s.
Last Time Out
The Aggies opened their outdoor postseason campaign in Auburn at the SEC Championships. The men claimed fourth with 64.75 points, while the women were sixth with 58.5 points.
The group brought a nine-medal haul back to Aggieland, including two gold, two silver and five bronze. Zaza Nnamdi secured the first conference championship for the team, winning the men’s javelin with a toss of 81.20m/266-5. Morgan Davis added the second victory in the women’s long jump, leaping 6.55m/21-6 on her final attempt to ensure the sweep of the indoor and outdoor titles.
The pair of silver medals came from a pair of freshmen. Etoro Bassey claimed his first conference medal in the high jump after a personal-best leap of 2.23m/7-3.75. Peter Narumbe secured the 800m silver with a time of 1:45.46, marking a top two finish at the indoor and outdoor championships. The bronze medals were won by Katelyn Fairchild in the javelin (56.31m/184-9), Aleksandr Solovev in the pole vault (5.55m/18-2.5), Machaeda Linton in the triple jump (13.24m/43-5.25), Ja’Qualon Scott in the 110m hurdles (13.28) and Camryn Dickson in the 200m (22.45).
Top-Ranked Aggies
Heading into the NCAA West First Round, the Aggies hold 14 top-ten nationally ranked marks, with the men tallying eight and the women six.
Nnamdi and Scott headline the group, leading the country in the javelin (84.68m/277-10) and 400m hurdles (48.22), respectively. Scott also clocked the No. 8 time in the 110m hurdles of 13.28. The Aggies’ 4x400m relay group has impressed all season, holding the No. 4 (3:00.77), No. 7 (3:01.56) and No. 8 (3:01.62) marks. Narumbe clocked 1:45.05 in the 800m to rank fifth, while Bassey rounds out the group landing at sixth in the high jump (2.23m/7-3.75).
On the women’s side, Dickson leads the pack with two top 10 marks, standing at No. 3 in the 200m (22.15) and No. 10 in the 100m (11.02), while Jaiya Covington is fifth in the 100m hurdles (12.79) and the 4x400m relay team holds 10th (3:25.10). In the field, Davis leapt to No. 8 in the long jump (6.55m/21-6) and Fairchild ranks ninth in the javelin (56.59m/185-8).
The Field
Texas A&M will be joined in Fayetteville by over 100 schools from the west region. All athletes in attendance competing at the West Preliminary Round are ranked in the top 48 nationally in their respective events.