Pat Henry talks A&M's success at the Texas Relays, Victor's record

Key Notes from Pat Henry Interview

• It was probably one of the better Texas Relays that we’ve had. We look at Austin as our home meet because we don’t have a home track. There were 20,000 people the last day and a lot of Aggies there.  We won five of the relays and 10 events. We were the team of the meet, that's seven times in the last eight years. They forgot to say when Lindon Victor won the decathlon that he’s from Texas A&M. It’s a good place to go and be successful.
  
  
• We are doing well right now. We are still trying to gain ground in a lot of areas and continue to maintain, but get a little better everywhere. This is the challenging time of the year because you are trying to compete hard while staying healthy. What you did in the fall comes into play now. How hard you worked in the fall determines how healthy you remain in the spring. If you’re not getting better, you are getting hurt. We are right on that edge which is where we want to be, we are healthy right now.
  
  
• Every athlete is different. Some people need more competition than others to get better. Some people need to train better during the week and advance in training sessions so they can compete in two weeks. John Kyriazis is our javelin thrower, at Texas Relays he threw 88 meters, which is the second furthest throw in the history of track and field. He would have gotten a medal at the Olympics. He took one throw. We aren’t going to throw it anymore because it is such a violent event, it’s the toughest event on the body.
  
  
• You run that fast and put that front foot down and catapult over the top of that foot, the torque you create by throwing is unbelievable. We’ve had someone break their ribs while throwing so you have to be cautious practicing. Everybody is a little different, some can throw more than others. We are going to take it easy on John, he’s one of those guys who is a little fragile so we are going to take it easy on him.
  
  
• Aaliyah Brown had an okay indoors. Outside, she is a different athlete. We won the 4x100. She took the stick just about the same time as LSU did and she beat the girl by two or three feet going down that last 100 meters. She ran 11.21 in the preliminary rounds. that was a significant run for her.  At the Baldy Castillo Invitational she broke a 19 year old record. She’s coming along. She’s a senior and she’s turning into a good leader.
  
  
• There are ten events in the decathlon. Lindon Victor had his best ever in a couple of events, but he didn’t in others. Those athletes will always have the thought that they could have been better in a single event. Being a great athlete is defined in the world of athletics as being a person who can run, jump and throw. It’s not how much money you make or how well you do in one of those, it’s how you do in all three. He’s the best athlete in the history of the NCAA. He would be the best athlete to go to Texas A&M in any sport.
  
  
• Lindon runs 10.6, 48 seconds a quarter. He high jumps 6’10". He throws the javelin 230 feet. He’s 178 foot discus thrower. He’s the greatest that’s ever been here. He’s better than Ashton Eaton, he’s scored more points than him. If Lindon keeps going the way he is, the world record is not that far out of sight. His first day at the Texas Relays was the best first day of any decathlon in the history of the event. The guy is a great athlete. He’s 6’3 1/2”, right at 200 pounds. He’s a great guy. The thing that defines Lindon is he can smile when he needs to, he can be serious when he has to.
  
  
• I don’t think I’ve been anywhere that got as loud as it did during the Indoor National Championship. I think we can create that kind of environment outside. There’s a lot of talk about our new facility, but no tractors are moving yet. I had a great discussion with our athletic director on this topic so I’m feeling very positive. 12th Man is doing a great job, we are pretty close. We had a meeting last Thursday and there’s another meeting this week about finalizing some things. My job is coaching right now so that’s what I’m going to do. It bothers me to go to Austin and sit in front of 20,000 people when I know we can do that here and do it better.
  
  
• History is very important to me as a track coach. We have to create a history and show what happened years ago. We have a place in the new facility to show the history of the sport at Texas A&M.