2. Texas A&M 400s Are Spicy
The state of Texas doesn't have an official indoor track and field season, but the studs of the Lone Star State certainly train all year round. The lack of regular winter competition makes a marquee event like the Texas A&M High School Indoor Classic even more tantalizing -- this meet may be the only time many Texans get to compete until March... plus, we were there on-site!
We knew to look out for World Youth Championships medallist Keshun Reed (pictured) and the 45.75 400m talent didn't disappoint in his indoor track debut. The LSU commit nailed a U.S. No. 1 in his 400m prelim (47.82), then it was the Finals where things got really fire: Reed ran 47.09 and led Champion Allison and Howard Fields not only to sub-48 performances, but the top three fastest times in the nation this year.
Oh, yeah, and the lights went off in the Texas A&M field house. That was dramatic.
| M 400 Meter Dash Open - Finals | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Overall | Athlete | Class | Team | Result | Heat | |
| 1 | 1 | Reed, Keshun | 12 | Arlington Martin | 47.09 | 3 | |
| 2 | 2 | Allison, Champion | 11 | George Ranch | 47.31 | 3 | |
| 3 | 3 | Fields, Howard | 11 | Manvel | 47.75 | 3 | |
Watch the Boys 400m Finals here.
Seventh-grader JaEra Griffin. We had to look twice at her time, too.
The Girls 400m lent an air of intrigue to meet proceedings. On Friday night, unknown talent JaEra Griffin blasted a nation-leading 55.79 in the 400m Prelims. Who was this girl?!
It turns out she was the USATF Southwestern Junior Olympic champion last summer... in the 11-12 age group. Yep, Griffin is only in seventh grade. As the TAMU Classic is a high school only event, she was ousted from competing on Saturday.
Minus the national leader and minus U.S. No. 2 Symone Mason, who chose to focus on the 200m, the Girls 400m Finals still prompted the most tense finish of the day. Sophomore Bailey Lear and senior Kayla Johnson battled all the way through the line to the No. 1 and No. 2 times in the nation: 55.01 to 55.03.
Watch the Girls 400m Finals here
We would have loved to see Griffin race again, but rules are rules. Props to Texas A&M for sticking by their guns. If you don't want to get kicked out of the meet, you probably shouldn't tell anyone you're underage.
There were more national leading performances, 371 race videos/dozens of interview videos, so check it all out on the meet page below:
Full results and coverage from Texas A&M High School Indoor Classic
- jojo