Texas A&M, Auhmad Robinson Highlight Thrilling SEC Indoor Championships

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Auhmad Robinson threw his left hand over Pat Henry’s shoulders and put his index finger in the air, signaling a first for even the Texas A&M men’s track and field team on Saturday inside the Fasken Indoor facility.

The Aggies’ first SEC Indoor Track and Field Championship.

It certainly did not happen without one last effort, with Robinson, the Texas A&M senior competing in his final conference meet, opening up the 4×400 with a 46.92-second split before Kimar Farquharson finished things off with a 45.22 second dagger, giving the Aggies and Henry, the 20-year head coach and nine-time NCAA team champion coach, a time of 3:03.09 to take down Arkansas, which had won five straight SEC titles dating back to 2020.

“All week, we’ve been saying we got a chance to make history,” said Robinson, highlighting the fact that the Arkansas men have won the meet 24 times since 1993. “This is our first SEC title ever win. So we did it as a team.”

And what would the SEC Indoor Championships be without surprise moments like this, the nation’s best track and field conference taking it down to the final inches over three days as the season heads to a close this month at NCAA Indoors in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

The Texas A&M men earned a first, the Arkansas women claimed their 11th straight title, and both finished the night as SEC champions, capping off a wild few days of championship racing.

We were there for the ride. Here were the top three moments.

Auhmad Robinson’s Final Hurrah With Aggies At The SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships

Perhaps no sprinter in the country runs with more heart than Robinson, who claimed the first two SEC indoor championships of his career, clocking times of 45.07 seconds in the 400 meters and 3:03.09 in the 4×400.

While the Texas native out of Houston is just five-foot-eight inches, he packs a punch on the track, a year ago lowering his 400 meter personal best to 44.91 seconds.

He ran no slower than 45.62 this indoor season, proving he was the man to beat at SECs. But it was up to him on Saturday while the stakes were raised.

What pulled Robinson closer to the sun, he said, was the fact that this was his last conference meet.

“The majority of this team are seniors,” he said. “So this really meant a lot, and not just for me but for them. Just for us to have, like, that last memory, to get a ring that last time out.”

In a thrilling 400 meter final, Robinson edged Georgia’s Will Floyd at the line, clocking an NCAA No. 3 time of 45.07 to Floyd’s 45.24. Later, as the Aggies led by just three points over Arkansas going into the final event at SECs, Robinson was placed on lead rather than anchor to set the tone.

Across the track, the Aggies also saw wins from its distance medley relay team and Blake Harris in the heptathlon and from Samuel Whitmarsh in the 800m.

Whitmarsh earned his second straight SEC title, legging past Mississippi State’s Abdullah Hassan in 1:47.69.

“If it was easy, they would say everyone would do it,” he said.

Aaliyah Butler’s NCAA Pursuit Continues At The SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships

A return to earth may have come for Aaliyah Butler this indoor season after the 21-year-old qualified for the Olympics and reached the semifinals of the 400 meters in Paris for Team USA.

She returned to Georgia and went back to the college oval.

But on Saturday, she made sure there was no malaise, factoring into two SEC Championship wins as she clocked the second-fastest time in NCAA history in the 400 meters, hitting 49.78 on the clock.

“I just kept thanking God and trusting my coaches,” Butler said. “And that’s what happened today. I just ran my race and executed the way I wanted to.”

With the meet winding down, she finished with a 49.87 split on the anchor of Georgia’s winning 4×400 relay, helping the Bulldogs to a time of 3:26.42 – while also outlasting South Carolina, which earned a 49.86 split from Jameesia Ford, also the winner of the 200 meter final, on the team’s third leg.

“I believe (SECs) is the hardest meet ever,” said Butler, who was fourth in the SEC outdoor final last year despite clocking a time of 49.79 seconds. “It brings up my nerves like that.”

Butler was just shy of the NCAA record of 49.48, a 2023 record last accomplished by Britton Wilson of Arkansas. Butler also pulled along Arkansas’ Isabella Whittaker, who was second in a time of 49.90, an NCAA No. 3 all-time performance.

Missouri’s Drew Rogers Shocks In The Men’s 3K Final At The SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships

The most surprising finish of the night took place in the men’s 3,000 meters.

Nine runners entered the SEC final with season-best times faster than Missouri’s Drew Rogers.

In fact, the sophomore didn’t even own a 3K effort inside the NCAA’s top 50 performances on the season.

But when the race became tactical, Rogers found himself in a position to contend. Arkansas’ Yaseen Abdalla, Patrick Kiprop and Reuben Reina broke off over the final laps.

Rogers was not in a great position, finding himself in seventh or eighth at times. Reina made a big move on the backstretch and looked to be in a prime position to win.

“Obviously, there was crazy talent around here and I respected everyone going in,” Rogers said. “But I knew I had a fighting chance, and there was no one in there that was better than me. And when it comes down to 400, I believe that I’m better than everyone.”

Rogers responded, ultimately winning over Reina – the SEC champion in the mile – in the last meters in 7:53.61, which was a new Missouri record.

He ran his final 400 meters in 57.99 and his last lap in 27.08.

“It’s been a long road,” Rogers said of his win at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships. “We have this new coach now (Kyle Levermore). He’s stuck with us. He’s been through thick and thin with us. I owe it all to him and without him, I don’t think I would be where I am. So it’s been a long road, but we just believed and kept bringing the program up, so I’m blessed to be where I am.”

Next up on the calendar for college athletes is the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, which take place from March 14-15 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.