Spring Break
Foundation for success
Dykes, Oliver anchor A&M men's relay teams
By: Patrick Hayslip
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Sports
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After winning two national championships at Louisiana State, Henry joined A&M in 2004. Henry recruited his foundation in Oliver and Dykes.
"Both of these guys are very talented and have come a long way from the time they were freshman," Henry said. "These were the first guys we recruited here."
Oliver and Dykes run on the 4x100 and 4x200-meter relays. Dykes runs the third leg of the race and Oliver runs the fourth. Because they hand the baton off to each other, it takes chemistry to succeed.
"The good thing about me and Chris being three and four is that we have been together for four years," Oliver said. "We know what to expect from each other and we know each other's faults and what each other's strong points are."
Oliver and Dykes have been running relays together their entire collegiate career and they recognize the need for a trusting relationship.
"I have to be able to trust him, to know what he's going to do and he has to be able to trust me because I am handing off to him," Dykes said.
Oliver has been running track for 10 seasons but did not start that way.
"I started out playing football first," Oliver said. "I was going to run but I played basketball as well so those two sports ran further than expected so I had to miss track that year. So then the next year I said I was going to run to see how I did, and I did well so I just kept doing it."
Dykes said he has run track since 10th grade and football helped the transition. Track coaches saw Dykes running the 40-yard dash and asked him to try for the track team.
When deciding who to run for, both Dykes and Oliver said the coaches were one of the main reasons for coming to A&M.
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