 "Photo: File Photo")
The Texas A&M track team will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship, beginning today and ending Saturday, at the John McDonnell Field at the University of Arkansas.
Coming off of the Midwest Region team championships, both men and women will look to win the outdoor championship after the women came in second behind Tennessee in the indoor championship by five points and the men finished ninth. "We had an awfully good meet indoors but it only takes a little bit," Head Coach Pat Henry said. "The difference between nationals and a regular meet is kind of like a Volkswagen and a Porsche, if you aren't hitting on everything, you're in big trouble."
The Aggies will need great performances by everyone if they are to claim their first national championship. They have shown their skill throughout the season as the women and men are both currently ranked No. 1.
"It's the kind of situation where it's about excellence and a great performance all on the same day," Henry said. "You have to have a little bit of luck but you have to make a little luck for yourself too."
The Aggies will send 32 athletes to nationals, including 17 women and two alternates, and 12 men with one alternate. The women's 4x400 meter relay was added four days after the Aggies won the Regional meet and that means that both relays for the men and women will compete at nationals.
"Of course we are sprint, hurdle, jump heavy," Henry said. "We have all four relays and there aren't many schools that have all four."
Key opponents for the Aggies include defending indoor champion Oregon men, LSU men and women, Arizona State men and women and defending indoor champion Tennessee women.
"I think Oregon is our biggest competition," said sophomore sprinter hurdler Gabby Mayo. "They have a lot of good distance girls so I think they are our main competition, but then again you never know who will show up at track meets so we can't worry about anybody else but just what we have to do."
Mayo anchors the women's 4x100 meter relay and will also compete in the 100 meter and 100 meter hurdles.
"I'm pretty confident in the relay, we are ranked No. 1," Mayo said. "I think everybody is on that same page and they are just ready to do what they did to get better."
Sophomore Julian Reid is coming off a win in the long jump at the Regional meet with a career best leap of 26-4.5 (8.04) along with breaking the 34-year-old facility record at the John Jacobs Complex in Norman, Okla.
This is Reid's second year at Nationals and he will compete along with sophomore Tyron Stewart in both the long and triple jump and along with junior Zuheir Sharif and sophomore Melvin Echard in the triple jump.
"Hopefully, I'll be competing all four days, both prelims and finals, but I think I'll be able to cope with it better than last year," Reid said. "At this level, I have never competed through all four days but in the prelims I PR'ed, so I think I've learned from that experience so hopefully this year will be different and I will be able to make it through all four days."
In addition to Mayo and Reid, the Aggies showcase many other athletes favored to win their events. Sophomore Gerald Phiri is running in three events. Porscha Lucas is in three events, with her lowest rank being third. Justin Oliver is running three events, including the anchor position for both top five ranked relay teams, along with his No. 5 400 meter position.
When asked if there are any expectations of the team, Henry said, "I think most expectations are our own of us. If you run your best and you get beat then that's OK. I think if we have everybody do their best we are going to be very successful."
Though the Aggies did not reach their goal of winning a national championship indoors earlier in the season, they will be ready both mentally and physically, according to Henry, and they will use the experience they gained from indoors to help propel them to a win in the outdoors.
"It's about mental preparation and I think we are very prepared physically. I think we are stronger mentally all the time and the indoor prepares you for that kind of thing," Henry said. "Indoor track is a huge part of our program and we want to try to be very successful indoors but outdoor is where track and field really is so you use the indoor to prepare yourself for outside track."
Be the first to comment on this article!