COLLEGE STATION – In sweeping the team titles at the Charlie Thomas Invitational in front of a crowd of 2,015 at Gilliam Indoor Stadium the Aggies combined for 21 top three finishes on the second day of the meet.
Six Aggie wins produced on Saturday included Gabe Oladipo (58-4 ½) in the shot put, Austin Cook in the weight throw (64-9 ½), Brenessa Thompson (7.38) in the 60m, Danyel White (23.28) in the 200m, Lajarvia Brown (20-2 ½) in the long jump and the women’s 4×400 relay (3:41.52). In addition, the Aggies produced seven runner-up and eight third-place finishes.
“We had a lot of people step up and score today and take some spots,” said Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. “That allowed us to win both meets, which is significant for us. We had a number of people we just didn’t let get on the track today since you can’t just bang away all year long.”
Texas A&M women amassed 196.5 points for a dominate victory over a field that included Cincinnati (129.5), Georgia Tech (72), Houston (71), UT Arlington (50), Rice (46), UTSA (34), TCU (31) and South Plains (28).
The Aggie men produced 127.5 points to better the field of Houston (96.83), Cincinnati (72), Georgia Tech (68), TCU (67), UTSA (68.33), South Plains (53), Rice (52.33) and UT Arlington (44).
Aggie alum Bralon Taplin improved his world-leading time in the 400m from 45.48 to a sizzling 44.88, a performance which ranks fifth on the all-time world list. Taplin just missed the Grenada national record of 45.80 set by Kirani James as well as the Gilliam facility record of 45.85 set by Texas A&M’s Fred Kerley last year.
“Bralon Taplin was already leading the world, and now he is really leading the world in the 400,” said Henry.
Deon Lendore, running in another section of the Olympic development 400m, produced a time of 45.85 to place second overall behind Taplin. In the women’s Olympic development 400m, Quanera Hayes won in 52.28 over a 52.66 by Jessica Beard.
“Deon Lendore hasn’t had a race in two years and he ran a 45.8. I’m extremely proud of that guy,” noted Henry.
In the process of changing from a glider to a spinner in the shot put, Oladipo set an indoor best of 58-4 ½ (17.79) and moved to No. 10 on the Aggie all-time list. That effort enabled Oladipo to pass TCU’s Isaiah Rogers (57-0) in the fifth round of the shot put.
“It’s good to see Gabe making the change to the spin in the shot put,” added Henry. “He’s going to be a good shot putter.”
Oladipo noted: “Right now I am thankful I’m finally getting a breakthrough. Last week was my first week spinning. Every week was stagnant with the glide, so we felt we really needed to make a change. I’m blessed to have a coach and teammates to get me through the process.
“Last week was the first meet I actually had fun at it. I got too caught up in the distance in the previous meets, and I didn’t do that today. I just want to keep building to the future. It’s an honor to be on the top 10 list with so many great throwers.”
Cook, who has battled through the flu this indoor season, generated a winning mark of 64-9 ¼ (19.74) to better the effort of 63-9 ¾ by TCU’s Rogers. Cook moved into the lead in round three.
“The start of the semester has been pretty rough,” explained Cook. “I had surgery on my knee and ankle in the fall. I got over that and then I got the flu for a week. Today was a great day. My throws were perfect apart from one little thing.
“I’ve been throwing 21 meters in practice, and that’s what I need to get to nationals. Missing practice time made me feel weaker, so I have had to focus on technique. I love seeing Gabe change his shot technique. We have worked together, and I like doing that.”
Thompson led an Aggie 1-2 in the 60m with Amber Ivy claiming the runner-up spot in 7.47. White, meanwhile, won the 200m while Thompson finished third in 23.66 with Virginia Kerleyfourth at 23.79.
Brown improved her best in the long jump by a quarter of an inch with a 20-2 ½ (6.16) victory. She is now equal No. 7 on the Aggie all-time list. Houston’s Samiyah Samuels placed second with a 20-2 ¼ (6.16) while Aggie Taryn Milton finished third at 18-9 ¾ (5.73). Milton also finished third in the 60m hurdles with an 8.50.
The Aggie women won the 4×400 in 3:41.52 with a foursome of Julia Madubuike (54.61), Jarra Owens (56.09), Jean Jenkins (56.73) and Jaevin Reed (54.09). Texas A&M placed second in the men’s 4×400 with a clocking of 3:07.98 from a crew that included Elijah Morrow (47.67), Richard Rose (47.23), Devin Dixon (46.28) and Bryce Deadmon (46.80).
After winning his first four competitions of the season, Jacob Wooten finished second in the pole vault based on misses at 17-7 ¾ (5.37). Wooten needed two attempts to get over that bar while winner Adrian Valles of Cincinnati cleared on one attempt. Valles set a meet record of 18-3 ¼ (5.57) with his victory last season.
Robert Grant posted a time of 46.44 as runner-up in the 400m while Kyree Johnson (47.21) and Bryce Deadmon (47.25) finished fourth and fifth.
Other runner-up efforts for Texas A&M included Ciynamon Stevenson (40-8 ¼) in the triple jump, Sara Kathryn Stevens (13-4 ½) in the pole vault, Alison Ondrusek (66-6 ½) in the weight throw.
Third-place finishes included Hannah Campbell (4:55.11) in the mile, Celine Markert (48-7 ¼) in the shot put, Nadia Pakes (2:14.21) in the 800m, Carissa van Beek (60-5 ¾) in the weight throw and Avery Jones (16-1 ¾) in the pole vault.
Nathan Hite finished fourth in the heptathlon with a career best score of 5,455 points, moving to No. 5 on the Aggie all-time list.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics