By: Tyler Pounds/Texas A&M Athletics Communications
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Texas A&M track & field’s Tyra Gittens claimed the NCAA pentathlon National championship with a collegiate-record score of 4,764 points, Thursday evening at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
While setting a collegiate record, the multi-athlete also set a facility record, Trinidad and Tobago national record and became the first female Aggie to win an individual indoor title since 2014 when Brea Garrett won the weight throw. Gittens’ score of 4,764 points is the most in the pentathlon by a female athlete from a Caribbean nation.
En route to setting an overall personal best in the pentathlon, she set personal records in three of the five events, while winning three events.
Gittens’ day started with clocking 8.27 in the 60m hurdles, .01 seconds faster than her previous personal best. She followed by winning the high jump at 1.93m/6-4, which bettered her previous school record of 1.91m/6-3.25. The high-flyer owns the top five all-time performances in Aggie history, she has cleared 1.93m/6-4, 1.91m/6-3.25, 1.89m/6-2.25, 1.88m/6-2 and 1.87m/6-1.5 in her career.
Her clearance also equaled the Trinidad and Tobago national record held by Natasha Alleyne-Gibson.
She continued to show her dominance winning the shot put at 13.86m/45-5.75, less than two inches short of her personal record. The junior followed by winning the long jump on her final attempt at 6.58m/21-7.25, which was just short of her personal record of 6.62m/21-8.75.
Gittens capped the record performance by clocking a personal-best 800m time of 2:28.22, which produced an overall pentathlon score of 4,764.
The Aggies begin day two of the NCAA Indoor Championships tomorrow at 2 p.m.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Pat Henry
on Tyra Gittens’ performance:
“It was the finest effort any collegiate athlete has ever had. To do the things she did and start off with a personal best in the 60m hurdles and clear 6-4 in the high jump is absolutely a tremendous start. She came to this meet with a lot of intention, an intention to win this championship.”
on the message that today sent:
“Tyra [Gittens] didn’t win the SEC title two weeks ago and it shows the whole team that it’s about how you think. If you’re a positive person and go in there with the experiences you’ve had, be ready to do it on this day. This is the day that you have to put everything you know together to try to win an event. I think today teaches that, it showed that you can do it because Tyra just did it.”
National Champion Tyra Gittens
on breaking the collegiate record:
“Today means so much to me. When I was a freshman and looked at the collegiate record I just thought ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t think I can do that but I can come somewhere in that area’. As I matured, I definitely realized that it can be more achievable than I thought and I was so happy that I was able to do it today.”
on the 800m:
“I think the 800 was definitely the thing that I’m most proud of because of how much of a mental block and just mental funk it is for me. Even though it wasn’t an amazing time, I broke out of that mental blockage and it was definitely needed today. I came into the meet saying, ‘However, anything else goes, I don’t care because the 800 is one thing that I know I need to work on. And I was so happy. I could cry that it turned out the way it did and I stuck to it. I stuck to the plan.”