Track & Field Report: Aggies open indoor season with McFerrin-12 Degree Invitational

Texas A&M track & field's indoor season starts on Saturday with the McFerrin-12 Degree Invitational at the Aggies' new Fasken Indoor Track. Ahead of the meet, head coach Pat Henry joined TexAgs Radio for the Track & Field Report.

Key notes from Pat Henry interview

• Everybody has me going 100 mph about the facility, and I'm a coach. I have to get my team ready, most importantly. We are opening a new facility. It's an eye-opener. People will be impressed when they walk in the door. Just the visuals and optics. Completely different than the other facility. I'm not saying it's better. It's different. People will enjoy it. There is seating all the way around. 
   
• We missed an outdoor season as well. Our practice track outside of the building is the shape of a candy cane. It is around the throwing field. That means all of our facilities are right there. We used to have to drive. That was always challenging. Now, we have both facilities together. 
   
• The 12 is synonymous with us. Indoors, you run 200 meters. The building can't hold a 400-meter track. The bank at the turn at its highest point is 12 degrees. That's a world governing body. A flat turn is different than going around a bank turn.
   
• We have a good meet with Florida, TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma. To open our facility, that is a great group. We have field events in the a.m. Running will start at 2 p.m. High school meets get really big. That is not a college track meet. This is a huge challenge this weekend for my staff. To put on a track meet is a significant event. We will have 100 volunteers.
   
• We don't have players. We have athletes. That first gun at 2 p.m., the facility is ours. We have only trained there for three or four days. We have not acclimated to a new environment. 
   
• Lamara Distin, there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watchlist right now. Distin is as good of an athlete as we have. On the ladies' side, we have a good pole vaulter back, Heather Abadie, and our best quarter-miler, Jermaisha Arnold is back. Jaiya Covington is back. Camryn Dickson and Semira Killebrew are our sprinters. Joniar Thomas and Kennedy Wade, too. Those were NCAA names for us.
   
• Eric Cararez is back on the track. We have another miler in Cooper Cawthra. Carter Bajoit is back. De Marco Escobar, too. We have a 4x4 that ran 3:00 flat last year. They are all back. We have experience there.
   
• Jack Mann III, our good pole vaulter, is back. Ushan Perera, our school record holder in the high jump, is back. Auhmad Robinson is the name I was leaving off. The best hurdle we have had in quite a while, Connor Schulman is back. Sam Whitmarsh is back.
   
• We have added some good talent, but I don't talk about the new people until they do something. 
   
• I think we can be really competitive this year. This is my 20th season at A&M. We have not finished outside of the top 10 in very many years in those 20 years. We have been competitive in those years. We have won it nine times. It is hard to predict in our sport.
   
• I hope everybody comes to the meet. There is no charge. First responders are running a relay this weekend.