Roberts Highlights Opening Day of Penn Relays

Thursday, April 23

Philadelphia, Pa.

Texas A&M

Penn Relays

Apr 23, 2026 | Track and Field

By: Sam Thornton, Athletics Communications

PHILADELPHIA – Texas A&M track & field's Megan Roberts highlighted the opening day of the Penn Relays after running the second-fastest time in school history in the 5,000m Thursday at Franklin Field.

Roberts set the tone for the weekend, as she clocked a time of 15:50.29 in the women's 5,000m which moved her up from No. 4 to No. 2 on A&M's all-time performers list and landed her ninth in the event. On the men's side, Jack Johnston ran 13:49.19 to top the Aggie contingent finishing 13^th, while Youssef Asslouj placed 19^th in the field and entered the A&M record book at No. 9 with a time of 13:58.62.

The women's 3,000m steeplechase duo of Debora Cherono and Emma Little logged a pair of top-15 finishes. Cherono secured ninth place after finishing in 10:13.53, while Little was 13^th in 10:18.77. Hunter Jackson in the men's event ran sub-nine minutes for the first time in his career, clocking 8:59.52 to finish 26^th.

In the 1,500m, Ondrej Gajdoš finished 14^th with a mark of 3:44.71, and Elise Smoot on the women's side finished 45^th with a mark of 4:30.78.

Next Up
The Aggies return to Franklin Field tomorrow for the second day of the Penn Relays, while the Michael Johnson Invitational kicks off at Baylor.

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