COLLEGE STATION, TX -- As Texas A&M plays host to the Big 12 Indoor Championships in track and field this weekend at Gilliam Indoor Stadium, the No. 3 Aggie men seek to defend the team title they claimed a year ago while the No. 5 A&M women attempt to win a fifth team championship over the past six years.
Live results from the Big 12 Indoor meet will be available at deltatiming.com this weekend while a live webcast is available through 12Th Man Productions on the aggieathletics.com website. Updates from the meet will also be on Twitter (@aggietrk).
Big 12 action begins on Friday morning with the women’s pentathlon at 11 a.m. while the men’s heptathlon starts at 1 p.m. Prelims will open with the mile at 3 p.m. On Saturday, finals will start at 3 p.m.
Tickets for the Big 12 Indoor Championships are $15 for general admission, $25 for the bronze seating section, $30 in the silver section and $40 in the gold section. To purchase Big 12 Indoor meet tickets online visit aggieathletics.com or call 888-99-AGGIE.
With their national rankings Texas A&M men and women each enter the meet as the top rated squads. The main challenge for both team titles will likely come from Texas with a few other teams in the hunt.
Currently, the Aggies lead 10 Big 12 event categories heading into the conference weekend. The A&M men top seven events while the Aggie women have three events they lead.
Six of the event leaders by the Aggies cover the sprints and middle distance events from the 60 meters to the 800 meters. Those event leaders include Ameer Webb (60, 200), Ricky Babineaux (400), Michael Preble (600y) and Joey Roberts (800). The other A&M event leader is newcomer Babatunde Amosu in the triple jump.
Roberts returns as the defending champion in the 800 while Preble finished second in the 600 yards to teammate Tabarie Henry a year ago. Webb and Babineaux will each experience their initial Big 12 Championship coming to A&M from the junior college ranks.
In addition to having leaders in those six events, the Aggies have scoring depth across those event areas with Prezel Hardy, Jr., Michael Bryan, Deon Lendore, Ashton Young and Oscar Ramirez.
A&M also leads the distance medley relay with a NCAA automatic time of 9:29.71 they set in defeating Oklahoma (9:30.13) at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational in New York City.
While the A&M 4 x 400 (3:07.36) is barely second on the conference list to Baylor’s 3:07.17, the Aggies have not lost to the Bears in three encounters this season.
Ashley Collier (60), Dominique Duncan (200) and Laura Asimakis (pole vault) are the event leaders for the Aggie women. Sprint depth for the A&M women includes Olivia Ekpone, LaKeidra Stewart, Kamaria Brown, Donique’ Flemings, Chandrell Stephens and Ibukun Mayungbe.
Asimakis, who bettered the Aggie indoor standard in the pole vault three times this season, teams up with Aly Daily for scoring potential in the event this weekend. Asimakis, currently with a best of 13-11, has won each of the four meets she contested at Gilliam this season and placed seventh among a national caliber field in New York City. Daily, meanwhile, has finished third or better in home meets with a season best of 13-1.5.
Of the 12 school records set this indoor season over half have come in the distance events. Leading the record efforts for the Aggies have been Henry Lelei and Natosha Rogers.
Rogers has set a school record in each race she has contested this indoor season. Her tally includes five records in four events, including twice in the mile along with efforts in the 3,000 meters, 5,000 meters and running the anchor leg of the distance medley relay.
Lelei currently holds school records in the mile and 3,000 as well as being the anchor leg on the distance medley relay. Kevin Burnett, who had his 3,000 school record broken by Lelei, set the A&M record in the 5,000 this season.
Two relay school records for the Aggie women included the 4 x 800 and distance medley relay where depth in the middle distances has aided A&M’s efforts. The Aggie crew competing in the Big 12 meet includes Jillian Anderson, Sophie Blake, Ashley Chamberlain, Hillary Hagan, Aliese Hyde, and Tiffany Singleton.
In addition to Lelei and Burnett in the men’s distance events the A&M crew includes Will Barry, James Bonn, C.J. Brown, and MacLean O’Donnell.
A mixture of experience and newcomers populate the field events for the Aggies. Returning scorers include Casey Strong and Cole Knuth in the weight throw, as well as Cameron Alexander and Tyler Lee in the high jump.
Big 12 Leaders
MEN
60: 6.66 Ameer Webb, Texas A&M
200: 20.79 Ameer Webb, Texas A&M
400: 46.87 Ricky Babineaux, Texas A&M
600y: 1:08.56 Michael Preble, Texas A&M
800: 1:47.14 Joey Roberts, Texas A&M
1000: 2:23.68 Patrick Schoenball, Baylor
Mile: 3:58.76 George Alex, Oklahoma
3000: 7:52.38 Thomas Farrell, Oklahoma State
5000: 13:46.00 Shadrack Kipchichir, Oklahoma State
60H: 7.69 Mantas Sikauskas, Kansas State
4x4: 3:07.17 Baylor
DMR: 9:29.71 Texas A&M
HJ: 7-7 (2.31) Erik Kynard, Kansas State
PV: 17-8.5 (5.40) Maston Wallace, Texas
LJ: 26-7 (8.10) Marquise Goodwin, Texas
TJ: 51-7 (15.72) Babatunde Amosu, Texas A&M
SP: 66-7 (20.29) Ryan Crouser, Texas
Wt: 63-11.5 (19.49) Jacob Bullinger, Missouri
Hept: 5780 Mantas Silkauskas, Kansas State
WOMEN
60: 7.25 Ashley Collier, Texas A&M
200: 23.29 Dominique Duncan, Texas A&M
400: 53.05 Diamond Dixon, Kansas
600y: 1:20.14 Kianna Elahi, Iowa State
800: 2:05.16 Boglarka Bozzay, Kansas State
1000: 2:46.79 Boglarka Bozzay, Kansas State
Mile: 4:41.24 Laura Roxberg, Missouri
3000: 9:06.61 Betsy Saina, Iowa State
5000: 15:36.09 Betsy Saina, Iowa State
60H: 8.18 Tiffani McReynolds, Baylor
4x4: 3:32.63 Texas
DMR: 11:13.18 Baylor
HJ: 5-11.5 (1.82) Alyx Treasure, Kansas State
PV: 13-11 (4.24) Laura Asimakis, Texas A&M
LJ: 20-9 (6.32) Francine Simpson, Kansas
TJ: 43-7 (13.28) Andrea Geubelle, Kansas
SP: 60-8 (18.49) Tia Brooks, Oklahoma
Wt: 70-11.25 (21.62) Kelly Closse, Texas Tech
Pent: 4074 Ryann Krais, Kansas State
