TEMPE, Ariz. – Texas A&M middle-distance runner Avi’Tal Wilson-Perteete broke the collegiate 600m record with a time of 1:28.02, while the men’s and women’s teams swept the 4x400m relays Saturday night at the Baldy Castillo Invitational at the Joe Selleh Track at Sun Angel Stadium.
“”It was a good competition for us. You can’t ask for better weather and nine out of ten times coming to Arizona we’re going to have great weather and that’s why it’s a lot of fun to prepare for this competition,” experienced Aggies head coach Pat Henry said.
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“We did some things really well and we did somethings we needed to do. Some of the events that we don’t do indoors. I’m really pleased with freshmen Lianna [Davidson] and Katelyn [Fairchild] to throw 174-foot the first time they put the javelin in the air. Those are big throws.”
In a one-off event, Texas A&M swept the women’s 600m as Wilson-Perteete clocked 1:28.02 to break the collegiate record previously held by Montayla Holder of Iowa at 1:30.16.
Freshman Bailey Goggans followed at 1:30.02, while Aggie professional Athing Mu won the race with a time of 1:24.13. Mu’s time ranks as the second fastest American all-time and is 10th fastest all-time on the world list.
The Aggies won six other events, including three relays running NCAA-leading times in the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m and the men’s 4x400m. The Aggie foursome of Rachel Hall, Zhane Smith, Kaylah Robinson and Laila Owens edged the field clocking 43.12 in the 4x100m.
A few hours later, the women’s 4x400m of Owens, Tierra Robinson-Jones, Syaira Richardson and Kennedy Wade defeated the field by nearly five seconds winning at 3:28.79.
The men’s 4x400m followed suit as Brandon Miller, Moitalel Mpoke, Omajuwa Etiwe and Chevannie Hanson combined to stop the clock at 3:01.51. The time registers as the fastest season opening mile-relay in Aggie history.
“Both of the relay “A” groups looked good and we had some people running on the “B” groups that were really important to create some depth for us. Jaevin Reed looked good tonight and we had four other guys run 46-seconds that weren’t on the men’s “A” group,” Henry said.
“Everybody thinks that is a lot of fun and easy but I have to line-up four and then there are five or six that want to run. That’s good because there are three or four that want to be a running back and they want to start too.
“It’s about competition inside our group and we have some competition for a lot of areas inside the group.”
Running in his first ever open 400m, Mpoke blazed the track running 45.84. The time makes the senior an early NCAA-leader in the event. Success continued at the 400m distance for the Maroon & White as James Smith II won the 400m hurdles with his Aggie personal best time of 49.72.
Smith’s time registers as an NCAA-leading mark and ranks No. 2 on the world performance list for 2022. The junior became the 10th fastest performer in Texas A&M history.
Freshmen Lianna Davidson and Katelyn Fairchild highlighted the field events finishing as the top collegians in the women’s javelin. Davidson led the dynamic duo with a toss of 174-8/53.24m, while Fairchild recorded her best throw at 174-2/53.10m.
The Aggie pair finished second and third overall and cracked the Texas A&M all-time top-12 performer list. Davidson ranks seventh best and Fairchild eighth best.
Between the two days of competition, Texas A&M recorded nine Aggie all-time top-12 performances and 15 personal bests, including Allyson Andress who set personal bests in all three events entered. The multi-event athlete ran 14.83 (w/-1.5) in the 100m hurdles, long jumped 18-4.5/5.60m and threw the javelin 123-3/37.57m.
Next Up
Texas A&M travels to Austin to enter the 2022 Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays beginning Thursday, March 24-26 at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
Written by: Tyler Pounds, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
