ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Texas A&M track & field’s Lamara Distin highlighted day one of the Don Kirby Invitational winning the high jump with an NCAA-leading clearance of 6-3.5/1.92m, while four other Aggies claimed event titles inside the Albuquerque Convention Center Friday night.
Distin cleared heights of 5-10/1.78m, 6-0/1.83m, 6-1.25/1.86m and 6-2.25/1.89m before soaring over 6-3.5/1.92m to claim the event title. The clearance bettered her previous NCAA-leading height of 6-2/1.88m and makes her the second best indoor performer in Aggie history. A Hanover, Jamaica, native, Distin broke a 46-year old national indoor record of 6-2.75/1.90m previously held by Maresa Cadienhead. The sophomore recorded the second best performance in school history.
Deborah Acquah won the women’s long jump with a series best leap of 21-8.25/6.61m, nearly a foot farther than Nike professional Rhesa Foster’s mark of 20-10.5/6.36m. The jump registers as the sixth best performance in Aggie history. Acquah, a senior, now owns three of the top six performances Texas A&M history.
Sprinters claiming titles on the track include Lance Broome (200m), Keanu Jones (unseeded 200m) and Laila Owens (200m). Jones, running in the unseeded men’s 200m, clocked the fastest overall time of 21.16. The freshman from Brenham bettered his previous best by four-tenths of a second. Broome followed winning the seeded men’s 200m at a time of 20.62. The junior registered a personal best time while becoming the sixth best performer in school history. Owens continued her unbeaten streak winning the seeded women’s 200m with an all-time best at 23.00. The win marked the fifth victory in individual races and eighth including relays. The sophomore bettered her previous best by .21 seconds to become the eighth fastest Aggie all-time.
Fellow sprinters Devon Achane, Ryan Martin, Sydnee Stewart and Emmanuel Yeboah each registered personal bests in their respective 200m races. Achane placed second behind Broome at a time of 20.98, while Martin ran 21.17 and Yeboah 21.26. Stewart clocked 24.53 in the women’s race.
Other notable performances include Luke Barrett finishing with a personal best in the weight throw at 58-3.75/17.77m to become the 10th best Aggie all-time and Connor Gregston setting a personal best in men’s pole vault at 16-10/5.13m, the third week to do so.
Gemma Goddard and Brady Grant highlighted the distance crew at the Music City Challenge in Nashville, Tennessee. Grant ran a personal best 5000m time of 14:29.69 to become the 10th best performer in school history, while Goddard clocked a personal best mile at 4:51.27 to become the 11th best Aggie performer all-time.
Day two of the Don Kirby Invitational continues Saturday at 10:30 a.m. CT with field events, while track events begin at 11:40 a.m. The Music City Challenge begins for the Aggies with Mikenna Robinson in the unseeded women’s 800m at 10 a.m. CT.
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