Track & Field Report: Pat Henry recaps A&M's trip to the City of Angels

Texas A&M track & field competed in the Trojan Invitational in Los Angeles last weekend, and the Ags had a number of standout performers. On Tuesday, head coach Pat Henry joined for another edition of the Track & Field Report to run down the latest regarding his program.

Key notes from Pat Henry interview

• We are about halfway through the outdoor season. We have about five to six competitions that are really important, so it goes pretty quickly.
   
• With running shoes, you know we have feet problems all the time. It’s about finding the right kind of shoe for your foot. We tend to wear our shoes a little bit too short, but when you do that, it will hurt your arch or the top of your foot. If you have a narrow foot, you need to buy that narrow shoe, and the same with wide feet. You have to find a shoe that really fits your foot.
   
• Most people should be heal toe, but if you are a toe striker, it's like hitting a punching bag with your foot. Something will feel bad over time.
   
• We are reteaching them every day. It’s about teaching change. Nobody is perfect, and finding what is perfect for each individual is difficult.
   
• Teaching how to breathe and correct breathing is important. If you don't oxygenate, you are going to run out of gas. We aren't talking about a whole team operating the same way either. Everyone operates differently.
   
• We signed a young man out of Florida. Issam Asinga is an American, and he ran 10:06. This weekend, he ran 20:11 in the 300 meters. If he runs too fast, we may not see him. For an 18-year-old though, to only be running, only playing baseball or only doing this or that, it is a tough life. I don't think many parents want their kids to have a full-time job at 18.
   
• We had a great meet. Jermaisha Arnold ran 50:70 at 400m, and that is the fastest time in the world right now. I think we have missed how good this young lady is. She has done extremely well. She anchored it in our 4x400m. Our quarter milers are running really well.
   
• Sam Whitmarsh has had a tough year and a half. He has had two heart situations and two surgeries, and he has overcome them. He has had bad luck. He also has a little bone that was broken when he first started school. Luckily, we caught the heart situation when he had COVID, and he has taken care of it. We are taking care of him. Then on the other foot, he had a stress reaction, a really bad bruise on a little bone. We really wanted him to run a 600m really well. I think he's going to end up running really well.
   
• Camryn Dickson and Semira Killebrew, both of them ran very well. Bryce McCray ran his first 400m.
   
• In the 4x400m this last week, we didn't put much pressure on anyone. We had a good team effort. They didn't keep a score, but we have to turn around and go to a big meet where you have great competition. We set that up last weekend by not overdoing it. You pick and choose, figure out how you are going to run an individual and how you are going to preserve them.
   
• Whitmarsh is just a tough guy. He is a happy-go-lucky guy. He’s 6-foot-5, but he's very talented. He ran 1:46 flat last year, but he couldn't finish the year because of the surgeries. I think he is one of the more talented 800m guys that we have had.
   
• James Smith starts this weekend. G’Auna Edwards hyperextended a knee, and it's been a slow recovery. When you hurt a knee that bad, it's a little bit tough between your ears to do that again. Bailey Goggans has a foot problem and may not be able to be back for a while.