Ags host LSU in track battle of the best

Texas A&M’s third annual dual meet at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium will feature the Aggies and the LSU Tigers, two programs that have enjoyed national championship success in track and field. When they square off this Saturday, starting at 3:30 p.m. , the dual meet will feature two programs currently ranked among the top three in the nation.

Preseason indoor rankings produced by USTFCCCA have the A&M women No. 2 and the Aggie men No. 3 while Tiger men are No. 2 and the LSU women are No. 3. A live webcast of the meet will be available on www.aggieathletics.com.

“The national rankings and a dual meet team are kind of two different things, but LSU continues to try to have good teams, the same as we are, that can be successful at this kind of meet as well as the conference level,” Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry said.

“This will be a fine track meet, even with it coming early in the season for both programs. It brings out the competitiveness in your people and that is what this is all about.”

Since every possible point in each event is valuable during a dual meet, various athletes from each program will double or in some cases run three events in the Texas A&M vs. LSU Dual meet.

“This is another opportunity for a team to understand their one point could make a difference in the total team score,” Henry noted. “This environment creates a competitive atmosphere, and not just for the individual who wins the event, but it’s all the way down to that fourth place finisher.”

In addition to the dual meet the Aggies will also host a track and field reunion for former students with activities planned for Friday and Saturday evenings.

“This is another opportunity for our present athletes to talk and meet with returning alumni and former students,” Henry said. “It looks like we are going to have a good turnout for this reunion and these are always fun things to do.”

The reunion, which is open to all former track athletes and coaches, will begin with a reception on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in the lobby of Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium. On Saturday the reunion will include a meet and greet in the Gilliam lobby with the current National Championship A&M squads following the dual meet at 6:30 p.m. Then there is a reunion dinner at the Traditions Club ballroom beginning at 8 p.m.

For more information on the track and field reunion, contact Cathy Capps (ccapps@athletics.tamu.edu) at the Lettermen’s Association – 979-846-3024.

Texas A&M currently has collegiate leading marks in four events – 200 (Gerald Phiri, 2087), 200 (Jessica Beard, 23.25), 800 (Joey Roberts, 1:49.47) and the men’s 4 x 400 (3:06.49 – Bryan Miller, Demetrius Pinder, Tabarie Henry, Tran Howell).

The Aggies also lead the Big 12 in 10 events. In addition to the four collegiate leaders they also have conference leaders in the 60 (Prezel Hardy, Jr., 6.68), 60 (Jeneba Tarmoh, 7.33), 60 hurdles (Wayne Davis II, 7.85), 60 hurdles (Gabby Mayo, 8.27), 400 (Ibukun Mayungbe, 54.41) and the women’s 4 x 400 (3:36.15 – LaKeidra Stewart, Ibukun Mayungbe, Brittany Machacek, Andrea Sutherland).

A new addition to the Aggie program is scheduled to make her debut in the dual meet this weekend. Lisa Steinkamp, a freshman jumper from Germany, will contest the long jump. She enters Texas A&M with a personal best of 20-9 (6.32) and a windy best of 21-0 ½ (6.41). Steinkamp set her personal best placing seventh in the long jump at the German national championships in 2010.

LSU currently has a pair of collegiate leaders in the men’s 60 (Horatio Williams, 6.61) and long jump (Zedric Thomas, 26-3.75). The Tigers also lead seven events in the SEC, which includes 60 hurdles (Barrett Nugent, 7.83), 60 hurdles (Tenaya Jones, 8.38), high jump (Brittani Carter, 6-0 ½), pole vault (Josh Dominguez and Marcus McGehee, 17-3), and long jump (Jennifer Clayton, 20-4 ¼).

This weekend’s dual meet scoring format awards points to the top two finishers for each team in running and field events and awards points for one relay per school in the 4 x 400 and distance medley relay. Event points are awarded on a 5-3-2-1 format and 5-3 in relays. With 159 points on offer, the first team to reach 80 points will claim the dual meet win.