Texas A&M earned four gold medals and a total of 10 medals on the final day of the SEC Championships at John McDonnell Field for Texas A&M as the women placed second with 85 points and the men finished fourth with 86.5 points. However, none of them had the drama or flair that Infinite Tucker showed in the finals of the 400 meter hurdles as he snared the gold medal from teammate Robert Grant in the 400m hurdles with a dive for the finish line. Tucker's diving finish resulted in a winning time of 49.38 seconds, which is equal to the No. 3 performer and No. 4 performance on the Aggie all-time list. Tucker is the current U.S. and collegiate leader for the 2019 season and ranks 10th on the world list. Grant, the previous U.S. and collegiate leader from the prelims, clocked 49.47 as runner-up. "Honestly, I'm glad I got the win and competed against the best," stated Tucker. "Me and my teammates all worked hard for this, and I came out with the win. I'm happy and thankful for that. The mindset was to score as many points as possible, we wanted to go 1-2-3-4. It really didn't matter which one of us won first place, we knew if we gave it our all we would be happy with each other." Henry noted: "I've told Tucker you can't get there faster diving, just run through and you'll be fine. He thought he was a swim team guy today." Texas A&M had four entries in the 400m hurdles final and came away with 23 points. In addition to the 1-2 finish for Tucker and Grant, Ilolo Izu (50.68) and DeWitt Thomas (50.78) were sixth and seventh. Arkansas claimed the women's team title with 139.5 points while the Aggie women edged out Kentucky (84) and LSU (83) for the runner-up position. LSU generated 105 points to top Florida's 95 for the men's title with Arkansas third at 91. "We had good meet, but didn't have a great meet," said Texas A&M head coach Pat Henry. "We had some great individual efforts here today, but as a team I think we're better than what we showed. I can't be displeased at all today, I'm pleased, but we just need to continue to get better." Devin Dixon claimed his fifth consecutive conference 800m gold medal as the won a third SEC Outdoor title in commanding fashion. Jazmine Fray returned to the top of the podium in the women's 800m to match her winning effort from 2017. Then the Aggie men won the 4x400 relay for the third consecutive year. In addition to Grant's silver medal, Aggies earning silver status were Syaira Richardson (400m), Tyra Gittens (high jump), Jacob Wooten (pole vault) and the women's 4x400 relay while Danyel White (200m) picked up bronze.<doc-sep>Infinite Tucker is a great name for a hurdler -- or actually for anyone -- but perhaps Texas A&M's newest SEC champion should consider taking up swimming instead. In a stunning showing on Saturday at the 2019 SEC Track & Field Championships, Tucker so desired to win the 400-meter hurdles that he literally threw his body at the finish line. Not only did that last-second decision work as Tucker won the race by one-tenth of a second, he actually beat his own teammate, Robert Grant, for the SEC title. "Look. I closed my eyes over hurdle 10. I opened it, saw my ma at the finish, and I jumped to give her a hug," Tucker told ESPN. "That's all it is." Take a look. Grant had a different take on the move. "If I say what I thought on this camera, microphone right now, Coach [Pat] Henry would kick me off the team," Grant told ESPN with a smirk on his face. Tucker and Grant finished 1-2 in the race with Tucker taking home his first SEC title by a slim margin 49.38 seconds to 49.47 seconds. Tucker, a junior, placed second in this event last year and eighth in the same discipline at the NCAA Championships.<doc-sep>Texas A&M hurdler Infinite Tucker won the 400-meter hurdle event on Saturday in spectacular fashion, with a Superman jump across the finish to edge out his teammate in the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The junior from Huntington, New York, won with a time of 49.38. The end of the college outdoor season always brings some inspiring performances. It was no different this year, when Texas A&M hurdler Infinite Tucker took home gold at the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships—and also became a social media sensation in the process. The junior from Huntington, New York, took part in the 400-meter hurdle final at the championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Saturday. The race was close all the way to the finish, but Tucker and teammate Robert Grant were the only two gunning for the top of the podium after the final hurdle. As the two barreled toward the line, Tucker said he had his mom on his mind. “I wanted to make her proud by wining the race, so going over the last hurdle, I was just thinking about her and giving it my all,” Tucker told Runner’s World. “Her raising three kids on her own at a young age and supporting us, going job to job and working overtime to put food on the table and clothes on our back. I promised her that all of her pain and suffering would be appreciated.” Tucker led slightly, but victory seemed unsure. He had to do something to be certain he could make mom proud. With his adrenaline pumping and little time to think, he closed his eyes and acted “instinctually.” He didn’t realize what that entailed until he was airborne, executing a nearly-flawless, roughly five-meter Superman jump that left him nearly horizontal in the air before landing over the finish. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. He went full Superman! @aggietrk's Infinite Tucker goes ALL OUT for the gold. #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/gEr05kdPd9 — SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 12, 2019 “Once it happened, I was just like, ‘What did I just do?’” Tucker said. “It wasn’t anything planned; it was split second decision. I had a lot of emotions in my head.” The Superman effort paid off as he flew across the line. His adrenaline was so high when he landed that he barely felt the scratches on his knees and thighs he got from sliding along the track. He laid there for a bit, mainly because he was afraid to look at board. When he did, he saw he was first with a time of 49.38, edging Grant who finished 49.47. Teammates and coaches congratulated him, though head coach Pat Henry did have some advice for the 20-year-old. “He told me I definitely didn’t need to dive because I had the race,” Tucker said. “My mom said the same thing when I called her after the race. I didn’t need to jump, but she appreciated the effort, and the day after was Mother’s Day, so she was really excited.” [Want to start running? The Big Book of Running for Beginners will take you through everything you need to know to get started, step by step] A few days out, Tucker is still sore from the landing. Next up is regionals before hopefully the NCAA Championships. He doesn’t plan to repeat his finish strategy. “I think I’m just going to sprint across the line from now on,” Tucker said. “It really took a toll.” Andrew Dawson Gear & News Editor Drew covers a variety of subjects for Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>Infinite Tucker — yes, that’s his real name — would not settle for second place. Not again. The Texas A&M hurdler was losing his lead as he finished the the 400-meter hurdles at the 2019 SEC Track & Field Championships on Saturday. And so Tucker dove forward for the finish line to keep the lead and earn the the SEC title, edging ahead of his teammate Robert Grant. Tucker had finished in second place in the same race in 2017. “Look. I closed my eyes over hurdle 10. I opened it, saw my ma at the finish, and I jumped to give her a hug,” Tucker told ESPN after the race. “That’s all it is.” His teammate, who finished in second place, didn’t seem too broken up about Tucker keeping the lead at the end of the race. “If I say what I thought on this camera, microphone right now, Coach [Pat] Henry would kick me off the team,” Grant told ESPN with a smile. Tucker, who has the best name in hurdling, is also now the best 400-meter hurdler in the SEC, thanks to an infinitely fun (and probably painful) dive.<doc-sep>
A Texas A&M athlete somehow managed to place first in a 400-meter hurdles race at the 2019 SEC Track & Field Championships by leaping across the finish line and landing flat on his face. The junior from Long Island, endearingly known as Infinite Tucker, became an overnight sensation after footage from Saturday's event capturing his stunning finish made rounds of social media, Daily Mail reports. Tucker was firmly holding the lead after the final hurdle, but teammate Robert Grant caught up just a few steps later. Tucker leaped forward and extended his arms as the two approached the finish line, barely scraping the first place. Tucker had finished second in the same race two years ago in 2017. He went full Superman! @aggietrk's Infinite Tucker goes ALL OUT for the gold. #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/gEr05kdPd9 — SEC Network (@SECNetwork) May 12, 2019 Speaking to ESPN after the event, Tucker said, "Look, I closed my eyes over hurdle 10. I opened it, saw my ma at the finish, and I jumped to give her a hug. That's all it is." While Tucker broke his fall with his hands, his face and chest absorbed the majority of the impact. The athlete appeared to be okay during interviews after the race. Just moments after the race was over, Grant kneeled beside Tucker to check if he was okay before training staff rushed to tend to him. Nonetheless, Infinite Tucker made the best collegiate mark of the year with a record time of 49.38. The junior from Long Island, endearingly known as Infinite Tucker, became an overnight sensation after footage from Saturday's event capturing his stunning finish made rounds of social media. (Texas A&M University) Aggies coach Pat Henry had reportedly spoken to Tucker before the race, warning him not to leap over the finish line. "I've told Tucker you can't get there faster diving, just run through and you'll be fine," Henry told the school's website. "He thought he was a swim team guy today." Later, Tucker played down his milestone accomplishment. "Honestly, I'm glad I got the win and competed against the best," he said. "Me and my teammates all worked hard for this, and I came out with the win. I'm happy and thankful for that. The mindset was to score as many points as possible, we wanted to go 1-2-3-4. It really didn't matter which one of us won first place, we knew if we gave it our all we would be happy with each other."