By: Tyler Pounds, Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M men’s and women’s track & field teams won eight events, while Annie Fuller broke the 3000m steeplechase school record at 10:24.38, Saturday night at the 44 Farms Team Invitational at E.B. Cushing Stadium.
The race marked a career debut in the 3000m steeplechase for Fuller. The graduate student blew away the field almost a minute. Sophomore Teddy Radtke completed the 3000m steeplechase sweep winning the men’s race at 9:21.19, bettering his personal best by 14-seconds.
Senior Gavin Hoffpauir led a Texas A&M sweep in the men’s 800m with a personal best time of 1:52.11. Sophomores Cooper Cawthra and Victor Zuniga followed in second and third at 1:52.25 and 1:52.84, respectively.
Trailing with 200m left in the men’s 1500m, junior Eric Casarez switched gears blowing past the field to win at a personal best time of 3:51.19. Senior Brady Grant won section two with a personal best time of 3:57.34 to finish fifth overall.
The Aggies placed two in the top three of the men’s 100m. Ryan Martin won with a time of 10.16 (w/3.7). The junior edged sophomore Devon Achane who placed third at 10.20 (w/3.7).
Senior Deshae Wise won the women’s 100m Hurdles at 13.17 (w/3.4), while junior Connor Schulman placed second in the men’s 110m hurdles at 13.84 (w/4.0).
Texas A&M capped the night winning the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays. The women’s group of freshmen Kennedy Wade and Bailey Goggans and seniors Jaevin Reed and Jania Martin combined to stop the clock at 3:36.35, while the men’s quartet of freshmen Ashton Schwartzman, Sam Whitmarsh and Cutler Zamzow and junior James Smith II finished at 3:10.42.
Other notable performances include junior Allyson Andress placing third in the heptathlon with a personal best score of 5,093 points. Sophomore Laila Owens finished as the top collegian in the women’s 400m at a personal best time of 52.40 behind Aggie professional Athing Mu at 51.75. Freshman Bryce Foster placed second in the men’s shot put at 59-0/17.98m
Next Up
Texas A&M travels to Gainesville, Florida, to compete in the Tom Jones Memorial on April 15-16.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Pat Henry
on the partnership with 44 Farms…
“I think it’s terrific. I hope we look back years from now and know that we were involved with their first partnership. I look forward to continuing the involvement with 44 Farms and I hope the relationship grows over the years.”
on Annie Fuller…
“She’s a talented young lady. She’s a miler that can run pretty fast and it was good to see that school record from her in her first career steeplechase race.”
on the wind…
“In track, the wind is a huge factor in most of the events. It’s hard to get things done on days like today. Anything we can get done on days like this is an accomplishment. Laila Owens ran 52.40, that’s awfully good. We had some good things happen. We did what we needed to do today.”
Distance runner Annie Fuller
on her school record and receiving an Aggie Ring…
“I went into the race excited to try something new. I had a pace in my mind that I thought I could hit and I stuck with that throughout the race. I had fun focusing on attacking the barriers. Having something else to focus on made it really fun. It means a lot to follow up the special moment of getting my ring with a school record. It’s really cool to be a part of the Aggie tradition.”