Texas A&M will have a pair of former track and field athletes on the United States team competing in the World Indoor Championships next month based on their performances during the USATF Championships held this past weekend.
Tyron Stewart claimed the long jump title with a career best of 26-11 ¾ (8.22) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, while Ricky Babineaux placed seventh in the 400 final to qualify for the six-man relay pool in the 4×400 relay. They will both travel to Sopot, Poland for the IAAF World Indoor Championships held March 7-9.
Stewart led the long jump field after opening with a mark of 25-7 ½, but slipped to fourth place by round three with that distance. He reclaimed first place with a fifth round 26-5 ¾ leap, only to be overtaken in the final round by half an inch when Chris Bernard moved from fifth place to first with a 26-6 ¼ effort.
On his last jump Stewart responded with a career best mark of 26-11 ¾ for the victory. Bernard will join Stewart in the long jump at Worlds. Stewart is currently third in the world for the 2014 indoor season.
Babineaux ran a time of 46.57 to place third in the first section of the 400 final and finished seventh overall. He will now be part of a 4×400 relay pool that includes Kyle Clemons, David Verburg, Kind Butler, Calvin Smith and Clayton Parros. Clemons won the US title in 45.60 with Verburg runner-up at 45.62.
