COLLEGE STATION, Texas — For the first time in 20 years, championship outdoor track & field returns to Aggieland as the Texas A&M men’s and women’s teams host the Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championships beginning Thursday at E.B. Cushing Stadium.
The Best of the Best
Year in and year out, the SEC Championships are one of the toughest conference championships in the NCAA and 2021 is no different. Nine women’s teams rank in the top 25 of the USTFCCCA national rankings, including seven in the top 10. The Aggies are No. 3 behind LSU at No. 1 and Arkansas at No. 2. The men’s side is just as tough with eight SEC teams in the top 25, including three in the top 10. Texas A&M is No. 10, while LSU is No. 1 and Florida is No. 8.
SEC athletes currently lead the nation in 10 men’s events and 10 women’s events out of 21 total events per gender. Tyra Gittens is No. 1 in the heptathlon with 6,274 points, while Athing Mu leads the nation with a collegiate record 800m time of 1:57.73.
Aggies in the Rankings
Aside from Gittens and Mu leading the NCAA, the Maroon & White have a total of 29 marks that rank in the top 25 in the nation. Gittens is the lone Aggie with four individual marks in the top 25. The NCAA leader in the heptathlon, she is also No. 2 in the high jump at 6-2.75 (1.90m), No. 7 in the long jump at 21-10.65 (6.67m) and No. 25 in the 100m hurdles at 13.14. Deborah Acquah is No. 3 in the NCAA in the long jump (22-4.25/6.81m) and triple jump (45-5.75). Charokee Young also has a top five ranking, she is No. 5 in the 400m at 51.49. The women’s 4x400m relays own two of the three fastest relay groups in the country. Tierra Robinson-Jones, Syaira Richardson, Mu and Young combined to clock the second fastest time at 3:26.73, while Robinson-Jones, Young, Jaevin Reed and Mu have the third fastest time at 3:27.16.
The men’s team is led by senior Bryce Deadmon who is ranked No. 3 in the 400m at 44.58. Deadmon also runs as a member of the nation’s eighth fastest 4x400m (3:03.72), along with Brandon Miller, Devin Dixon and Moitalel Mpoke. Mpoke ranks No. 3 in the 400m hurdles with a season best time of 49.61. Despite not having competed since March 27, James Smith II still ranks in the top 10 in the country. Smith II is No. 8 in the 400m hurdles 49.95.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Pat Henry
on hosting the first conference outdoor championship meet since 2001:
We lost our culture for our sport in this community. It’s been a fight getting it back and getting things rolling and making people understand what’s going on in our sport. We’ve been pretty good. We’ve had some great years. We’ve won some national championships, and I think our community just hasn’t been able to get behind that.”
on the SEC Championship and NCAA Champion:
“We do everything we can to be successful at the SEC Championships. We recruit that way. We want to line up in all events. This is an important championship for us. We want to win this one, but we can win the national championship without winning the SEC championship. There are differences in the meets. The elites make it different. We have some elites on both the men's and women's sides. You can have a great team and not win the national championship.”
on Tyra Gittens:
“Tyra [Gittens] is one of those people that trains very hard, trains smart. She puts everything in to it. There isn’t a waking moment that Tyra’s not trying to be more successful in this sport. You have to eat, live, drink, think about this all the time. She’s one of those that has the ability to do that. Some don’t.”
Redshirt senior Bryce Deadmon
on if it makes a difference to compete in front of a crowd:
“It makes a major difference. I remember competing at SEC indoors and nationals, and there hardly being a crowd outside of the teams that were competing there. I feel like competing in front of the crowd definitely brings out the best in people. Hearing how hyped people get, knowing that all eyes are on you when you’re running just creates a completely different environment that you don’t get when there is no one in the stands to cheer you on.”
on the advantages of being on the home track:
“I think just being in front of the home crowd, and having people in the stands that actually know you and you know them. It kind of gives you a home feel. The people in the crowd are behind you as opposed to running somewhere else where people won’t cheer for you when they call your name at the start line. I try not to focus too much on where I am competing at, because at the end of the day, a track is a track. But people from this area and friends and family that come to the meet give an extra boost.”
Redshirt junior Tyra Gittens
on hosting the SECs:
“I am so excited. I am excited because I am comfortable. I don’t have to compete after traveling for hours. I know the best restaurants. I know I have a grocery store right down the street. It is fun not having to sleep in a hotel. I get to sleep with my puppy, you know what I mean? There is a level of comfort and there is less anxiety and pressure. I am excited to in front of a home crowd, and I love our track.”
on advantages of competing on the home track:
“For the heptathlon specifically, it’s amazing to have a home advantage. Only because, every apron is different for the high jump, and every runway is different. Some are more bouncy than others, so you have to change your rhythm a little bit. Some are really fast, so you might have to slow it down. Now, I know our track, and it might take my competitors a little longer to figure it out. For me that is the biggest advantage. A track is a track, but sometimes in these field events it’s a little more specific and you have to kind of feel it out a couple of times.”
How to Follow
Tickets can be purchased at the stadium ticket office as well as online at 12thman.com/tracktickets. Those unable to make it to the stadium can watch the live stream for Thursday and Friday on the SEC Network+, while Saturday’s meet is on the SEC Network. Thursday begins at 5:40 p.m., Friday at 4:35 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m.
Fans can also follow @aggietfxc on Twitter for live updates as well as live results provided by Flash Results.
Meet Day Experience
E.B. Cushing Stadium remains a cashless venue, for a complete list of efforts and enhancements being made to keep spectators as safe as possible visit gameday.12thMan.com/track.
Build It and They Will Come
Opened in the spring of 2019, E.B. Cushing Stadium is one of the finest track & field stadiums in the nation. After a lost season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, track & field lovers are finally able to watch elite track & field competitions. Along with hosting the 2021 SEC Outdoor Championships, E.B. Cushing Stadium is also the host site of the 2021 NCAA West Regional and 2025 NCAA West Regional. Texas A&M last hosted an outdoor conference championship in 2001 when the Aggies men’s team won the Big 12 title.
