Spring Break
Track teams prepare for Texas Relays
By: Patrick Hayslip
Issue date: 4/1/09 Section: Sports
The Texas A&M Men and Women's track team will compete in the 82nd running of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin on Wednesday and will take place at the Mike A. Myers Stadium.
"It's about going over there and seeing where we are at this time of year with great competition and in great competition good things happen," said Head Coach Pat Henry. "If you are ready for the environment, then I think we can have a good weekend."
The Aggie men will compete in five events including the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, Sprint Medley, and the 4x1500, while the women are contesting three relays including the 4x100, 4x200, and the 4x400.
This relays meet will be a different format for the athletes as the main focus will be on the relays which will occur on Friday and Saturday with the decathlon and distance running being held on Wednesday and Thursday.
"This is an environment preparation because you learn to do things in a big environment," Henry said. "There will be 25,000 people at the track meet so those kinds of environments will prepare you for big times meets and that's what this is about."
While the women will be defending their first-ever Texas Relays titles in the 4x100 and 4x200 that they won a year ago, the focus will be on gaining confidence for larger, more important meets down the road.
"As of this point things get kind of quick," said Junior Zuheir Sharif, "you have a lot of big time meets and you don't want to take any of them for granted. Every meet is an opportunity to go out there and establish some kind of mark and let the people know you mean business and establish some sort of dominance
There will be another opportunity for work in relays as the Aggies travel to Penn State for the Penn Relays later on this month and right around the corner are the Big 12 Championships, the NCAA Midwest Region, the NCAA Championships.
"One thing about Texas relays that I've noticed is that it is kind of like a preview of what the outdoor championship is going to look like," Zuheir said.
Among the 50-plus A&M athletes that will compete in the meet, there will be about seven to nine freshman for each gender and this meet will make for much needed experience for the rest of the outdoor season.
Freshman Oscar Ramirez is running at the Mike A. Myers Stadium for the first time in his collegiate career and is anchoring the Sprint Medley in the 800 meter portion of the relay.
"I've ran a couple four by fours indoor and outdoor so it's a good pressure," Ramirez said. "I'm running with a good group of guys and Texas Relays is a big meet. I came off my PR last meet with a 1:51 in the 800 so I just want to go out there and do my best and keep it up."
Friday's events will begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue through to 10 p.m. that evening. Saturday's event will open at 9 a.m. with high school events while university competition begins at noon.
"It's about going over there and seeing where we are at this time of year with great competition and in great competition good things happen," said Head Coach Pat Henry. "If you are ready for the environment, then I think we can have a good weekend."
The Aggie men will compete in five events including the 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, Sprint Medley, and the 4x1500, while the women are contesting three relays including the 4x100, 4x200, and the 4x400.
This relays meet will be a different format for the athletes as the main focus will be on the relays which will occur on Friday and Saturday with the decathlon and distance running being held on Wednesday and Thursday.
"This is an environment preparation because you learn to do things in a big environment," Henry said. "There will be 25,000 people at the track meet so those kinds of environments will prepare you for big times meets and that's what this is about."
While the women will be defending their first-ever Texas Relays titles in the 4x100 and 4x200 that they won a year ago, the focus will be on gaining confidence for larger, more important meets down the road.
"As of this point things get kind of quick," said Junior Zuheir Sharif, "you have a lot of big time meets and you don't want to take any of them for granted. Every meet is an opportunity to go out there and establish some kind of mark and let the people know you mean business and establish some sort of dominance
There will be another opportunity for work in relays as the Aggies travel to Penn State for the Penn Relays later on this month and right around the corner are the Big 12 Championships, the NCAA Midwest Region, the NCAA Championships.
"One thing about Texas relays that I've noticed is that it is kind of like a preview of what the outdoor championship is going to look like," Zuheir said.
Among the 50-plus A&M athletes that will compete in the meet, there will be about seven to nine freshman for each gender and this meet will make for much needed experience for the rest of the outdoor season.
Freshman Oscar Ramirez is running at the Mike A. Myers Stadium for the first time in his collegiate career and is anchoring the Sprint Medley in the 800 meter portion of the relay.
"I've ran a couple four by fours indoor and outdoor so it's a good pressure," Ramirez said. "I'm running with a good group of guys and Texas Relays is a big meet. I came off my PR last meet with a 1:51 in the 800 so I just want to go out there and do my best and keep it up."
Friday's events will begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue through to 10 p.m. that evening. Saturday's event will open at 9 a.m. with high school events while university competition begins at noon.
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