COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS, February 27–March 01 — Pat Henry and his Texas A&M Aggies are back.
Henry’s men rolled up 107½ points to edge Arkansas’ 102 and claim Henry’s first championship of any type since 2017, when his men won the NCAA Indoor. It was the Aggies’ first SEC indoor crown and the men’s first indoor conference title since winning the Big 12 in 2012. (However, it was not Henry’s first SEC indoor title — he won multiple during his time at LSU.)
It’s fair to characterize the Aggies’ quartermilers as the engine that drove them to the win. Indeed, they dominated the 400 with 21 points (places 1-4-5-7) and won the 4×4 (3:03.09) and were one-fourth of the winning DMR (9:23.92).
But really, A&M points were raining all around their 1-year-old R.A. “Murray” Fasken ’38 Indoor Track & Field Facility. In addition to Auhmad Robinson’s 400 win (45.07), the Aggies also picked up victories in the 800 (Sam Whitmarsh, 1:47.69) and heptathlon (Blake Harris, 5800) and silvers in the mile, 60 hurdles and pole vault.
“I don’t think anybody expected our decathlete to win,” Henry told the SEC Network. “That was big, for him to win that multi event. I think JQ [Ja’Qualon Scott, 2nd in the 60H, 7.51] is underestimated indoors. He’s an outdoor sprinter. The hurdles indoors are a tough race for him.
“Sam Whitmarsh, it’s good to see Sam bounce back after having some unfortunate situations for himself [broken foot and two heart surgeries], but Sam’s getting it done now.”
But the 400 strength is undeniable: “This is an exceptional group of quartermilers for me right now and I’m proud of that group.”
They had to remain cool under pressure. Texas A&M clung to a 3½ point lead coming into the 4 x 400, with a talented Arkansas quartet eager to spoil it for the home crowd. Steven McElroy gave the Razorbacks an early lead with a 46.56 opening leg over open 400 winner Robinson (46.92), but A&M consistency won out, as their final three runners — Cutler Zamzow, Antonie Nortje and Kimar Farquharson) all broke 46 and won by 1.19.
Henry was excited to showcase his squad and relatively new facility.
“It’s one of the greatest track meets in the world. There’s a lot of great coaches in the SEC, so to be successful here is a major accomplishment for my team and my staff. In this environment, this is a great win for us.
“You have to admit how loud it was during this track meet. Not just for [A&M’s] events, either. It was a good appreciation of the sport today.”
The 200 produced a pair of world leads. In prelims, Kentucky junior Karli Makarawu ran the lap in 20.20, only to have Auburn senior Makanakaishe Charamba upstage him in the final at 20.13 (Makarawu came 2nd in 20.26). The time ranks Charamba equal-No.6 all time indoors collegiately.
“My coach and I are on the right track,” said Zimbabwe Olympian Charamba. “Going into the outdoor season I’m promising a good show. I used the Paris experience to boost me coming into the NCAA season.”
Also cracking the all-time list was Charamba’s soph teammate Ja’Kobe Tharp in the 60 hurdles. His 7.48 placed him equal-No. 6 among collegians.
“It feels great to know I can come out here and execute, and the time shows,” says Tharp. “I wouldn’t call it a breakthrough, it was just doing what I needed to do.”
Another result was notable for historical reasons: Arkansas’ Reuben Reina notched his first championship, winning the mile in 4:03.02. His come-from-behind tactics and name both looked familiar to the Razorback faithful — his namesake 1992 Olympian father was key to John McDonnell’s dynasty at Arkansas, as were many uncles and cousins.
The younger Reina didn’t seem fazed at all by the intimidating family legacy. “Winning championships is what makes you a great runner,” he said.
One shocking storyline: The vaunted programs of Texas and Florida placed next-to-last and last, respectively, combining for a paltry 31 points.
SEC MEN’S RESULTS
Teams: 1. Texas A&M 107½; 2. Arkansas 102; 3. tie, Oklahoma & Mississippi 56½; 5. Alabama 48; 6. Auburn 47; 7. Tennessee 38; 8. South Carolina 36; 9. Georgia 34½; 10. Missouri 33; 11. LSU 30½; 12. Kentucky 21; 13. Mississippi State 19½; 14. Texas 16; 15. Florida 15.
60: 1. *Jordan Anthony (Ar) 6.54; 2. ***Israel Okon’ (Aub-Ngr) 6.55; 3. *Azeem Fahmi’ (Aub-Mas) 6.56; 4. ***Adekalu Fakorede’ (MsSt-Ngr) 6.56; 5. **Jaiden Reid’ (LSU-Cay) 6.58.
Heats: V–1. Okon’ 6.51 =WJR (=WJR Mark Lewis-Francis [GB] ’01).
200: I–1. Makanakaishe Charamba’ (Aub-Zim) 20.13 (=7, =8 W; =6, =6 C);
2. Reid’ 20.27. II–1. *Tapiwa Makarawu’ (Ky-Zim) 20.26; 2. Dario Matau’ (Aub-SA) 20.60.
400: I–1. Antonie Nortje’ (TxAM-SA) 46.03; 2. *Hossam Hatib’ (TxAM-Mor) 46.08. II–1. Auhmad Robinson (TxAM) 45.07; 2. **Will Floyd (Ga) 45.24; 3. **Jasauna Dennis (SC) 46.02.
800: 1. *Sam Whitmarsh (TxAM) 1:47.69; 2. Abdullahi Hassan’ (MsSt-Can) 1:47.95; 3. Rivaldo Marshall’ (Ar-Jam) 1:48.31.
Mile: 1. *Reuben Reina (Ar) 4:03.02; 2. Cooper Cawthra (TxAM) 4:03.23; 3. Ben Shearer (Ar) 4:03.26; 4. **Jaouad Khchina’ (SC-Mor) 4:05.28; 5. **Luca Santorum’ (TxAM-Ita) 4:06.44.
3000: 1. **Drew Rogers (Mo) 7:53.61; 2. Reina 7:53.74; 3. Yaseen Abdalla’ (Ar-Sud) 7:55.44; 4. Patrick Kiprop’ (Ar-Ken) 7:55.46.
5000: 1. Kiprop’ 13:37.52; 2. ***Dismus Lokira’ (Al-Ken) 13:40.40; 3. Victor Kiprop’ (Al-Ken) 13:41.44; 4. Kidus Misgina (Ms) 13:42.99.
60H: 1. **Ja’Kobe Tharp (Aub) 7.48 (=6, x C); 2. *Ja’Qualon Scott (TxAM) 7.51 (=10, x C);
3. *Jahiem Stern’ (LSU-Jam) 7.57; 4. *Kendrick Smallwood (Tx) 7.64; 5. *Demaris Waters (Fl) 7.67; 6. Jevon Williams (Tn) 7.69.
4 x 400: III–1. Tennessee 3:05.16; 2. Mississippi State 3:06.00. IV–1. Texas A&M 3:03.09 (Robinson 46.92, Zamzow 45.37, Nortje’ 45.59, Farquharson’ 45.21); 2. Arkansas 3:04.28 (McElroy 46.56, Battle 46.35, Smith 45.11, Tomlyanovich 46.26); 3. Florida 3:05.43 (Schwartzman 45.68).
DisMed: 1. Texas A&M 9:23.92 (Santorum’ 2:52.38, Zamzow 45.24, Norris 1:47.71, Cawthra 3:58.59); 2. Arkansas 9:25.85; 3. South Carolina 9:27.14 (Amaral’ 3:57.66); 4. Mississippi 9:35.82; 5. Alabama 9:35.94.
Field Events
HJ: 1. **Kyren Washington (Ok) 7-4½ (2.25); 2. *Arvesta Troupe (Ms) 7-3¼ (2.22); 3. ***Justine Jimoh (LSU) 7-2¼ (2.19); 4. *Trey Bartholomew (Ok) 7-2¼; 5. ***Julian McCullough (Ok) 7-2¼; 6. **Joshua Blakely (Ar) 7-2¼.
PV: 1. *Blake Sifferlin (Tn) 18-½ (5.50); 2. *Jack Mann (TxAM) 17-6½ (5.35); 3. tie, **Colton Rhodes (Ok) & *Evan Puckett (Tn) 17-6½.
LJ: 1. ***Jayden Keys (Ga) 26-0 (7.92); 2. Nikaoli Williams’ (Ok-Jam) 25-10¾ (7.89); 3. *Khybah Dawson’ (TxAM-BVI) 25-10¾ (7.89); 4. **Micah Larry (Ga) 25-8¾ (7.84).
TJ: 1. **Jonathan Seremes’ (Mo-Fra) 55-8¼ (16.97); 2. *Luke Brown’ (Ky-Jam) 55-4¼ (16.87); 3. *Brandon Green (Ok) 55-3½ (16.85); 4. Apalos Edwards’ (Ar-Jam) 54-6 (16.61).
SP: 1. *Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan (Ms) 68-3¼ (20.81); 2. Christopher Licata (SC) 65-9¾ (20.06); 3. *Ralford Mullings’ (Ok-Jam) 64-8 (19.71); 4. Dylan Targgart (SC) 63-1½ (19.24).
Wt: 1. Robinson-O’Hagan 79-10¾ (24.35); 2. Ruben Banks’ (Al-GB) 73-7½ (22.44); 3. Kyle Brown (Aub) 72-11¾ (22.24); 4. *Sam Innes (Mo) 72-8 (22.15); 5. *Bryson Smith (Ms) 72-4½ (22.06); 6. *Mason Hickel (Ms) 71-9 (21.87).
Hept: 1. *Blake Harris (TxAM) 5800; 2. ***Jaxon Bair (Ar) 5747; 3. Jordan Fick (Ga) 5660; 4. *John Landers (Al) 5494; 5. **Brock Lewis (Tx) 5493.
