AUSTIN -- Sheree Francis completed her first heptathlon with a total of 5,104 points on Thursday and set the seventh-best mark in A&M history for the event during the second day of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
With the mark she set at Myers Stadium over the course of the past two days, Francis surpassed the NCAA provisional qualifying standard of 5,050 points. To earn an NCAA automatic standard a score of 5,500 is needed.
Winning the javelin portion of the heptathlon with a toss of 141-4 (43.09) enabled Francis to improve to seventh in the field of 19 competitors with one event remaining, but a 2:43.29 in the 800 moved her down to 14th place. The second day of the seven-event discipline started with a 17-5 ¼ (5.31) long jump for Francis.
Diana Pickler of Washington State won the heptathlon with total of 6,204 points, which is No. 4 on the collegiate all-time list. Ryanne Dupree of UTSA was runner-up (5,818) and Julie Picker, also of WSU, placed third (5,734).
In the prelims of the 400-meter hurdles Nick Robinson won his heat in convincing fashion as he clocked 51.14 seconds while Texas State’s Gatis Spunde was second in 52.36. James Jerry ran 54.01 in his heat.
The result by Robinson was the sixth-fastest time overall in the qualifying round. Only the top nine times advance to the final, which will be held at noon on Saturday.
Texas Relays Preview – Friday & Saturday
Men’s 4 x 100
Joining Texas A&M among the top end teams for the sprint relay include Arizona, Baylor, Georgia, Florida State, LSU, TCU, UT-Arlington. The Seminoles have record two of the three fastest times in the nation so far this season, trailing only the 39.49 recorded by Florida.
Nine teams who have posted times among the top 15 in the nation this year are entered in the Texas Relays. The 39.71 clocking by the Aggies from the Rice Bayou Classic last weekend ranks sixth.
Following is a list of times recorded by schools among the Texas Relays entries so far this outdoor season with their current national ranking:
School Time Rank
Florida State 39.55 2
Florida State 39.57 3
Georgia 39.66 5
Texas A&M 39.71 6
Baylor 39.91 8
Middle Tennessee St. 39.97 9
UT-Arlington 40.04 11
LSU 40.06 12
TCU 40.13 13
Arizona 40.27 14
Men’s 4 x 400
Texas A&M is also among the elite squads in the 4 x 400 with its time of 3:05.98 from the Trojan Invitational when they finished second to USC. The Aggies are currently third in the nation.
The Cleburne Price Jr. 4 x 400 final will feature eight teams: Baylor, Florida State, Iowa State, LSU, Mississippi State, Oral Roberts, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Other top flight teams entered in the Texas Relays 4 x 400 include Georgia, Middle Tennessee State, and UTEP.
Eight of the teams entered have posted 11 times among the top 15 in the nation so far this outdoor season. Following is a list of times recorded by schools among the Texas Relays entries so far this outdoor season with their current national ranking:
School Time Rank
Baylor 3:05.29 1
Texas A&M 3:05.98 3
Georgia 3:06.49 5
LSU 3:06.52 6
Mississippi State 3:06.87 7
Texas A&M 3:07.31 9
Texas Tech 3:07.60 10
Texas A&M 3:07.67 11
Georgia 3:07.83 12
Mississippi State 3:07.84 13
Iowa State 3:08.23 14
Women’s 4 x 100
Texas A&M and LSU headline the entries in the sprint relay along with host Texas. The Aggies best time this season is 43.87, currently fourth in the nation. Other quality squads include Arkansas, Arizona, Baylor, Charlotte, Florida State, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma, Southern, TCU, Tulane and UCLA.
Ten of the schools entered in the Texas Relays have posted 12 times among the top 21 this year. Texas A&M has produced three marks among the top 10. Leading times so far this outdoor season include the following:
School Time Rank
LSU 43.73 3
Texas A&M 43.87 4
Texas A&M 44.15 6
Texas A&M 44.48 9
Texas 44.55 10
TCU 44.65 11
Arkansas 44.67 12
UCLA 44.98 15
Charlotte 45.02 =16
Arizona 45.02 =16
Oklahoma 45.13 20
Baylor 45.16 21
Women’s 4 x 400
The 1,6000-meter relay is one event area the Aggies haven’t produced a mark among the collegiate leaders, yet. Through three meets A&M has only run one 4 x 400, during the Monterrey Tech Relays when they won with a time of 3:39.62.
However, the Aggies have the potential to record a fast time this weekend after they were runner-up in the NCAA Indoor Championships with a school record of 3:29.93. Last year at the Texas Relays A&M ran 3:29.81 to record a then school record as they finished fourth.
Top teams competing in Austin this weekend include Arkansas, Baylor, Florida State, Middle Tennessee State, LSU, TCU, UCLA, UTEP, and Virginia Tech.
Ten teams in the Relays have produced 11 marks among the top 25 times this season. Leading times among the Texas Relays entrants include the following:
School Time Rank
LSU 3:32.80 2
LSU 3:34.06 4
Virginia Tech 3:34.67 5
Arkansas 3:37.20 9
Florida State 3:37.25 10
Baylor 3:37.30 11
Middle Tennessee St. 3:38.12 15
Texas A&M 3:39.62 19
UTEP 3:39.77 20
UCLA 3:39.79 21
Texas 3:40.74 25
Sprint Medley, 4 x 200
The Aggies will also run squads in the sprint medley and 4 x 200 relays during the Texas Relays this season. The 1,600-meter sprint medley involves legs of 200, 200, 400 and 800 meters.
The school record for A&M in the men’s sprint medley is 3:15.10 from 1988 while it’s been over 20 years since the Aggie women have participated in a sprint medley. The 4 x 200 school records are 1:21.38 (men) and 1:38.61 (women), both from the 1990 season.
A&M Relay Victories
It’s been a few years since the Aggies have claimed a relay title at the Texas Relays. The last win in the 4 x 100 was in 1997 when A&M clocked 39.04. In the 4 x 200 the Aggies last won in 1986 when they ran 1:21.70. 1980 is the year of the last A&M victory in the Cleburne Price, Jr. 4 x 400.
