Track coaches impressed with Aggies' third straight double

The Texas A&M track teams elevated the triple-double to a grand scale.

A&M won both 1,600-meter relay races to give the men and women their third consecutive national titles Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.

"I don't think Vegas could put odds on a team winning three years in a row," former Baylor coach Clyde Hart said. "That's something that's got to be one of the most difficult things you can do, not only in the NCAA but anywhere in any sport."

Hart, who coached Michael Johnson to Olympic championships and world records in the 400 and 200, has also coached Olympic 400 champion Jeremy Wariner, along with Darold Williamson and Sanya Richards Ross.

"The level of difficulty is just astronomical," Hart said. "It's quite a feat. A&M got a super class of athletes four years ago, and they've stayed with the program. [Jessica] Beard leads them on the women's side, and they've filled in with some great runners."

Even during the week, Hart had his doubts the Aggies could pull off the double three-peat.

"All three years, they really haven't had a flawless championship and have had to overcome setbacks," Hart said. "That's what is phenomenal about it."

A&M coach Pat Henry one-upped himself. While coaching at LSU, he had directed men's and women's teams to back-to-back NCAA championships, a feat that he matched last year with the Aggies.

"Pat has won a lot of NCAA championships in his career, and yet he remains hungry for special achievements such as this historic third-straight year winning both the men's and women's national championships," A&M athletics director Bill Byrne said. "He has a great drive to be the very best. I know our entire athletics department, the Bryan-College Station community and Aggies everywhere join me in telling Coach Henry and his track and field programs congratulations."

Baylor coach Todd Harbour, who took over when Hart retired from coaching the Bears full-time, saw the Aggies pull it off firsthand at Drake Stadium.

"It was very impressive," Harbour said. "Everything has to go just right to win a team championship. We had a tough weekend, where we just were a little bit off, a half inch in the triple jump or half a second where we might have gotten someone else to the finals."

Harbour, still the NCAA record holder in the mile, has been Baylor's head track coach for six seasons and has coached cross country with the Bears for 11 years.

"People don't understand in track how, for each individual to perform at that level, they have to be completely on," he said. "A&M had enough depth that even though some bad things happened, they still won it. It's pretty amazing and a tribute to what Pat has done there."

The Aggie men beat Florida State by a point and Florida by two. The Aggie women's team had a little more wiggle room but not much, winning by four points.

Before A&M hosted the NCAA indoor meet, Henry made his assessment of track and field.

"If I was going to pick something that is really important for our sport, I would say the relays," Henry said. "That shows the team environment for our sport. We are a team sport."

A&M swept the final races, the 1,600 relays, to secure their titles -- Henry's 32nd and 33rd national crowns overall.