Track & Field News ranks both Texas A&M recruiting classes No. 1

Track & Field News ranks both Texas A&M recruiting classes No. 1
Aggie women earn an unprecedented third consecutive No. 1 ranking by the magazine







Dec. 18, 2009


Mountain View, California - Earning No. 1 rankings for both its men's and women's recruiting classes in 2009 enabled Texas A&M to become only the second school to achieve the feat in the 15-year history of Track & Field News ranking collegiate recruiting classes.

Texas, in 2002, is the only other school to claim top honors in both the men's and women's rankings in the same year by the monthly magazine.

Amid a season which resulted in a pair of NCAA Outdoor championships for Texas A&M, a first for the program, the Aggie coaching staff was also busy recruiting elite athletes for future seasons.

The incoming A&M class, which has been in fall training on the Aggie campus as they prepare for the indoor track and field season, earned No. 1 rankings from Track & Field News in the January 2010 edition of the magazine.

"Recognition of our recruiting class is appreciated," Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry said. "I believe we have recruited some very good athletes, but success at the next level is dictated by the amount of work you do. The predictions are exactly that, and it's very early to talk about any type of team success."

For the Aggie women this honor marks an unprecedented third consecutive year for the program to be ranked No. 1 by Track & Field News, who correctly predicted an outdoor national championship for the A&M women last season at this time of the year.

The Aggie women are the first women's program to have three straight No. 1 rankings. Stanford men produced a three-year No. 1 streak from 1997 to 1999. In 2006 the A&M women earned a No. 2 ranking and then achieved No. 1 status in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Prior to 2006 the Aggie women had a No. 5 ranking in 1998.

Following the Aggie women in the 2009 rankings were 2. Michigan; 3. Arizona State; 4. Kansas; 5. Texas Tech. Receiving honorable mention: 6. Stanford; 7. Oregon; 8. Virginia; 9. USC; 10. LSU.





A No. 1 ranking for the Texas A&M men was its first mention in the top five since 1995, when the Aggies ranked No. 2 behind Tennessee.

Finishing in the 2009 rankings behind Texas A&M were 2. Texas; 3. Oregon; 4. California; 5. Wisconsin. Honorable mention went to: 6. Duke; 7. Kansas; 8. UCLA; 9. Virginia; 10. LSU.

Also in the January issue of the magazine is an early prediction on the outcome of the NCAA Outdoor Championships at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The Aggies will be seeking to defend their first-ever national titles at the University of Oregon, the program that placed second in both the men's and women's team scoring in Fayetteville, Arkansas, this past summer.

Track & Field News predictions expert John Auka has the A&M men scoring 64 points to finish ahead of Florida (63), Oregon (46), Arizona State (42) and Florida State (40).

Also predicting event winners, the Aggies are tabbed to claim victory in the 400 with newcomer Tabarie Henry and the men's 4 x 400, where an A&M squad has been runner-up the past three years at the NCAA Outdoor meet.

In the women's team predictions, T&FN expert Jack Pfeifer has the Aggie women reaching a total of 63 points to finish ahead of Oregon (57), LSU (43), Virginia Tech (42) and BYU (38).

Event winner predictions from Pfeifer include Porscha Lucas repeating as the 200 champion along with Jessica Beard claiming the 400 after she was runner-up at NCAA Indoor and Outdoor meets last season. The A&M women's 4 x 100 relay are tabbed to win a fourth consecutive crown in the event after breaking a 20-year-old collegiate record with its 42.36 victory this past summer.

The A&M men's recruiting class is highlighted by Tabarie Henry, who placed fourth in the 400 at the World Championships in Berlin this past summer and sports a personal best of 44.77 seconds. In 2008 Henry represented his native country of U.S. Virgin Islands at the Beijing Olympics, reaching the semifinals of the 400.

In addition the men's recruiting class includes Wayne Davis II, a prep All-America from North Carolina who set the World Junior record and U.S. high school record in the 110 hurdles at 13.08 seconds while winning the 2009 Pan-Am Junior title in his parent's native country of Trinidad & Tobago.

Other members of the 2009 A&M recruiting class include Curtis Mitchell, two-time California junior college champion in the 100 (10.31) and 200 (20.58) who placed fourth in the 200 at the World Junior Championships in 2008; Demetrius Pinder, runner-up in 400 (47.02) at 2009 NJCAA Indoor Championships; Sam Humphreys, who produced the third-farthest javelin throw (230-8) among preps in 2009; C.J. Brown, the Texas 5A state champion in the 1,600 (4:10.98); Joe Snelick, Texas 5A state runner-up in the 800 (1:53.49); James Bonn, Texas 4A state third place finisher in the 800 (1:53.04); and Casey Strong, a shot put (58-9.75) and discus (175-9) thrower.

Headlining the women's incoming class is Jeneba Tarmoh, a World Junior 100 champion in 2008, along with Natasha Ruddock, a NJCAA national champion in the 60m hurdles indoors and 100 hurdles for Essex County in New Jersey. Tarmoh has personal best marks of 11.21 and 22.94 while Ruddock has produced marks of 8.13 in the 60 hurdles and 13.15 in the 100 hurdles.

The women's class also includes Donique' Flemings, a double Texas 4A state hurdle champion with top marks of 13.58 in the 100H and 58.66 in the 400H who earned prep All-America honors in both events in 2008; Sasha-Kay Matthias, a double NCJAA champion in the long jump in 2009 with career best marks of 20-2.5 and 40-6.25 in the long and triple jumps; Jennifer Edwards, who finished third in shot put at Texas 5A state meet and has a marks combo of 46-3 shot and 141-0 discus; Bonnie Richardson, who won Texas Class A state team titles two years in a row as lone competitor for Rochelle HS; Taylor Rosser, Texas 5A state champion in the shot put who produced marks of 46-8 in shot and 144-0 in the discus; Chandrell Stephens, an 11.56 / 23.96 sprinter who won the Texas 4A 200 title and was runner-up in the 100 in 2009; and Tara Upshaw, Texas 5A state runner-up in the 3,200 (10:37.85).

courtesy texas a&m