Track & Field Report: Henry recaps dual meet as Aggies climb to No. 2 nationally

Despite falling to top-ranked Texas in a dual meet, the Aggies climbed to No. 2 in the nation following a fierce competition with the Longhorns last weekend. During Tuesday's edition of TexAgs Radio, legendary head coach Pat Henry joined in-studio to recap the weekend.

Key notes from Pat Henry interview

• It was a great meet for us. Any time you have a dual, it's great for the team. Everybody understands their contribution, and that's really important at this time of year. Then, you get to line up against Texas. Nobody likes Texas, so it's fun to run against them.
   
• We got beat on both sides at the dual meet, but it was very close. It came down to the relay on the lady's side. It was a great meet, and it was good for us.
   
• If there is something that we're trying to do, it's consistency. We want to be in the mix of the top group every year, which is a huge challenge. At the national meet, when you're there and have the most ready team of any team that's there, you actually have a chance to win. Being ready when it's time to be ready is huge. That's what we're trying to do.
   
• Devon Achane had a great weekend. He ran a 10.1 in the 100m. That was a great run. He has the ability to accelerate, but he is still learning how to run the 100m. Everybody thinks you just go out and blast it, but that's not true. He is getting better in his start. He ran very, very well. His 200m was very good, and he still has room to improve. He ran a 20.20, which is the best in the country.
   
• It always comes back to the consistency of effort and of skill. It's all about repetitions. Doing repetitions slowly turns into what you can do fast, which is why you drill. Learning a new skill is all about repetition. However, you cannot replicate a start in practice. Meet day is still a different situation than any you can mimic in practice. The development of skill and repetition of the right movement is what it comes down to on meet day.
   
• Training cannot be the same all the time. You have to train through some meets, so there is no way you can think of PRing every time you step on the track. It just cannot happen. You can work on and improve every time you step on a track. You cannot focus on personal records, and you cannot think about time.
   
• Charokee Young ran 50.00. This was the best she has lined up mentally. Physically, she has been ready to do this for a while. She can run very competitively, but you cannot run great until your brain is working right. Charokee is starting to get things together between her ears. Laila Owens is the same way. You don't get a half-second better in training. It's continual training, and Laila is just now starting to believe in herself. Laila still needs to improve her race, but she ran 22.57, which is big-time because it's the first time she broke 23 seconds.
   
• Those are as good of times as you'll see. I think Cooper Cawthra is second all-time. He is running right at four flat, and that's a PR for him. That would be the best he has run by about five seconds. That's a huge improvement for him, and he wanted to score points for his team. It was all about competing, and he wanted to beat somebody.
   
• Intermediate hurdlers, we're in the top five in the country. Our 4x100m relay is ranked. We have two male javelin throwers that are out for the year. We have two female freshman javelin throwers that are going to throw 280 feet, and that's really good. Bryce Foster's shotput is getting better. His understanding of what he has to do to put in 64 or 65 foot throws is coming. In the discus, we have a couple of guys who will get much better. I think we've always been an outdoor team. We've won nine NCAA championships, and only one was an indoor championship.
   
• Some events this weekend will be very good because we have good teams like Baylor and Houston coming. Another 10 institutions will be here, so it will be a competitive event, but not in every event. I will run a few people, but I will hold a few back. You cannot hit it every week all year long. There has to be a time in the schedule where you look to the next week, and we go to the Florida Relays next weekend, which will be hugely competitive. You have to be selective on a few people, but others need to line up and run every week. Some need a break.
   
• We had a good crowd at the dual meet, and that was good to see. The weather was good, and it looks like it will be good again this week. I hope people come out and watch.