Texas A&M track and field coach Pat Henry doesn't pull punches with his teams.
"If I think we have the ability to win I tell them we have the ability to win. I also tell them it takes everybody in the room to do that," Henry said. "I've already talked to this group. We talked before we went to regional, we talked to this group before we went to conference. We think we have a team that, if everyone does, well we can be very successful and we have an opportunity to win."
The A&M women followed both those speeches with victories, while the men finished second at the Big 12 meet and won at regionals.
Both teams' postseason performances give Henry reason to believe this week could be the time the Aggies capture their first NCAA track & field championship and add to his 27 career NCAA titles.
"We competed at a high level at regionals. We competed at a high level at conference," Henry said. "That's what I'm pleased with. We got through those high-level competitions healthy and that is exceptional for 30 people."
The Aggies have flirted with national titles in each of the last two seasons, with the women claiming fourth and third at the previous two NCAA outdoor meets and a second less than three months ago at the NCAA indoor meet.
The men were fifth a year ago at Des Moines, Iowa, and ninth as the hosts of the indoor meet this season.
The Aggie men and women are among the favorites at this year's outdoor event in Fayetteville, Ark., which begins Wednesday. Others that have a good shot to take home a title on Saturday are both squads from Oregon and LSU, while Florida, host Arkansas and Arizona State should contend on the men's side. Florida State has high hopes on the women's side and Texas has the stars to win at the NCAA level despite their fifth and third-place finishes at conference and regionals, respectively
"[If] you got a guy win the 100 [meters], you win a short relay and a guy is second in the 200, and one other scores in a field event ... you are up there at 35, 36 points and you are in it," Henry said. "So there are a number of schools [that can win it]. The real cream rises to the top.
Henry admits he is one of the coaches that has the thoroughbreds to place among the individual medalists and pile up team points quickly.
His three seniors all are among the top 10 in their events. Chris Dykes is ranked second in 200, Yasmine Regis is third among triple jumpers and Justin Oliver in the fifth in the 400.
"I think Regis can be very competitive in the triple jump, and the male long jumpers and triple jumpers [Julian Reid and Tyron Stewart] can be in there," Henry said. "I think we have three relays out of the four that can be competitive, and maybe the fourth one when we see what we can do.
"Dykes is one of those that can win. If he executes and is perfect he can win" Henry said. "Justin Oliver has been just about as steady for us as anybody and the last three weeks he's stepped right up, and I think he's got one more or two more progressions in front of him."
Two underclassmen that will have to play a part in the Aggies' run are sophomore Gerald Phiri for the men and junior Porscha Lucas for the women in the sprints. Both should make the finals based on their rankings, which Henry recognizes but won't put too much stock in.
"The thing that I'm pleased with is our people have done very good with [heats]," Henry said. "What that tells me is we had a lot of people doing good in September, October and November and that gives us the ability to run through [heats] right, which is our strength too."
NCAA TRACK & FIELD
* Outdoor Championships: Wednesday-Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.
* TV: Wed.-Fri, streaming video online at NCAA.com; Fri., 6 p.m., CBS College Sports; Sat., Noon, KBTX, Ch. 5
A&M will be represented in full force at the NCAA Outdoor Championships
Women
NameEventBest (Nat'l Rank)
Laura AsimakisJavelin173-0 (11)
Jessica Beard40051.24 (1)
Ashika CharanLong jump20-9 (21)
Ashika CharanTriple jump43-71/4 (13)
Dominique Duncan20023.36 (16)
Emalie HumphreysJavelin161-1 (22)
Porscha Lucas10011.12 (3)
Porscha Lucas20022.72 (2)
Gabby Mayo10011.13 (4)
Gabby Mayo100 hurdles12.96 (4)
Christina Munoz10,00034:29.38 (22)
Tiffany PetersTriple Jump43-5 (16)
Yasmine RegisTriple jump45-11/2 (3)
Angela ThomasTriple jump43-21/4 (20)
Vashti Thomas100 hurdles13.05 (7)
Khrystal Carter, Lucas, Duncan, Mayo4x100 relay42.80 (1)
Sandy Wooten, Tiffany Singleton, Brittany Machacek, Beard4x400 relay3:34.01 (11)
Men
NameEventBest (Nat'l Rank)
Chris Dykes20020.43 (2)
Melvin EchardTriple jump52-51/2 (17)
De'Lon Isom110 hurdles13.62 (9)
Bryan Miller40045.57 (9)
Justin Oliver40045.34 (5)
Trinity OttoDecathlon7,655 (5)
Gerald Phiri10010.13 (6)
Gerald Phiri20020.53 (7)
Julian ReidLong jump26-41/2 (2)
Julian ReidTriple jump55-0 (2)
Zuheir SharifTriple jump53-41/2 (9)
Tyron StewartLong jump25-71/2 (11)
Tyron StewartTriple Jump54-4 (3)
Tran Howell, Phiri, Dykes, Oliver4x100 relay38.79 (3)
Kyle Dykhuizen, Howell, Phiri, Oliver4x400 relay3:02.87 (5)
Note: All measurements on bests for field events are listed in feet and inches
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