Credit to Matthew McGinnis | Student Assistant, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
BATON ROUGE, La. – Lianna Davidson and Katelyn Fairchild recorded podium finishes as the Texas A&M men’s and women’s track & field teams completed day one of the SEC Outdoor Championship meet at Bernie Moore Stadium on Thursday.
Texas A&M javelin throwers Lianna Davidson and Katelyn Fairchild added 16 points to the Aggie women’s team point total as Davidson claimed the victory and Fairchild earned third place. Davidson led throughout the entire competition with her opening toss of 184-1/56.11m, then went on to better that mark with her final throw of 189-1/57.65m. Her final mark betters her No. 2 performer mark in Texas A&M history. Fairchild’s second throw of 183-1/55.81m held her in the top three for the entirety of the event, finishing with the bronze medal. Davidson and Fairchild are the first Aggie duo to earn podium finishes in the women’s javelin competition since 2018.
Sam Hankins scored the Aggies’ first points of the meet, finishing fourth in the javelin with a toss of 233-4/71.14m to add five points to the team total. Hankins finished fifth in the javelin at the 2021 SEC meet before taking a year off due to injury. Entering the year, his lifetime best was 230-1/70.13m, and he has equaled or topped that mark at six of the seven meets he has thrown at this year.
In the 400m hurdles, James Smith II clocked the third-fastest time of the day at 49.30, a personal best. Smith’s mark makes him the No. 4 performer in school history and advances him to Saturday’s final, which is scheduled to run at 7:05 p.m. CT. Bryce McCray clocked his second-fastest time of the year at 50.65 to finish 10th overall.
Eric Casarez clocked 30:24.77 in the 10,000m to finish seventh overall, one spot behind his placement last year. Leading the race with just over two miles to go, Casarez tripped and fell to the ground. Making up ground on the following laps, he found himself back in the top pack with a mile to go. As the leaders pulled away, Casarez powered through the final laps to hold his place and earn two points for the Aggie men. Jonathan Chung registered 31:36.57 to finish 15th overall.
On the women’s side of the 10,000m, Maddie Livingston ran to a fifth-place finish, earning four points for the Aggie women. Running her second 10,000m race ever, Livingston crossed the line in 35:45.82 to lead the Aggie trio that includes Abbey Santoro (10th, 36:21.47) and Grace Plain (11th, 36:40.07).
Joniar Thomas finished day one of the heptathlon in third with a total of 3483 points. Thomas clocked 13.71 in the 100m hurdles to begin the day with a personal best, setting the tone for the rest of her day. She recorded a clearance of 5-5/1.65m in the high jump, while she set a personal best in the shot put with a toss of 40-7/12.37m and equaled her 200m best at 23.99. Thomas enters day two just 200 points behind the leader. The final day of the heptathlon will begin Friday at 11:45 a.m. CT with the long jump.
The decathlon duo of Blake Harris and Landon Helms completed day one of the event in fourth place and eighth place, respectively. Harris began the day with a personal best in the 100m, clocking 10.65, then followed that up with a long jump of 23-9.5/7.25m and a shot put of 38-7.5/11.77m. He then went on the clear 6-4.75/1.95m in the high jump and ended the first day with a personal best 48.89 in the 400m. Helms recorded personal bests in the 100m and long jump with marks of 11.00 and 22-7/6.88m, then went on toss 35-1.25/10.70m in the shot put before recording a high jump personal best at 6-1.25/1.86m. He ended the day in the 400m, registering a personal best 49.87. Harris goes into the final day in fourth place at 4030 points, while Helms is in eighth with 3674 points. The decathlon will wrap up on Friday, beginning with the 110m hurdles at 11:00 a.m. CT.
In the men’s 800m, Sam Whitmarsh finished second in his heat with a time of 1:48.10. Whitmarsh, last year’s silver medalist in the event, holds the third-fastest time going into Saturday’s final. Running just his second open 800m this year, the time is a season best, topping his 1:48.72 from the USC Trojan Invite. The men’s 800m final is set to run at 6:45 p.m. CT on Saturday. Caden Norris finished in 1:50.05 for 15th, while Gavin Hoffpauir equaled his personal best at 1:50.46 to finish 18th overall.
Sanu Jallow qualified into Saturday’s 800m final on the women’s side, clocking 2:05.84 to finish with the eighth-fastest time of the day. Jallow’s time is also the second-best time of her life, just off her personal best of 2:05.68 from Mt. SAC. The women’s 800m final is scheduled for 6:55 p.m. CT on Saturday. MiKenna Robinson registered the second-fastest time in her career, clocking 2:09.09 for 16th overall.
Jordan Chopane ran the men’s 200m in 21.30 to take 22nd overall, while Isaiah Teer finished 26th in 21.46.
In the women’s 200m, Camryn Dickson clocked 23.21, the 16th-fastest time of the day, while Jania Martin finished 34th, registering 24.09.
At the end of day one, the Aggie women are tied for third with 20 points, while the men are in eighth with seven points.
Friday’s action begins at 11:00 a.m. CT with the decathlon 110m hurdles, while the rest of the running events are slated to start at 5:00 p.m. CT with the men’s 110m hurdles.
Fans can follow the live results provided by Delta Timing, or watch the live stream on SEC Network+.