COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M announced the signing of Athing Mu, the overall No. 1 recruit in the class of 2020, to the track & field program.
“Any time we – or anybody – signs the No. 1 recruit in the country, you have to be excited for your program,” track & field head coach Pat Henry said. “Besides being a great athlete, this young lady is a very good student. Coach Mallard did a great job in the everyday recruitment of Athing. After her official visit here we knew this was the kind of person and athlete that fits our program. We had a good in-home visit with Athing, her mom and her coach, which reinforced to us that this young lady is someone the we would look forward to working with on and off the track. Her abilities on the track -- having the top national times in the 400, 800 and 1500 meters -- make her one of a kind and one we are excited to have as a new Aggie.”
Indoors, Mu ranks No. 1 in the US at the prep level in the 400m (51.98), 600m (1:23.57), 800m (2:01.17), 1,000m (2:44.43) and 1,500m (4:43.18).
In February she set the American record in the 600m becoming the second-fastest woman in world history in the event. Her personal best in the 800 meters is .01 faster than the Texas A&M outdoor school record, the same event the Aggies have won the NCAA championship in the past two seasons (Sammy Watson, 2018; Jazmine Fray, 2019).
On Saturday night, Mu was honored at the USA Track & Field Night of Legends in Reno, Nev., with the 2019 USA Track & Field Youth Athlete of the Year Award. The award is bestowed on only a single prep athlete in the entire country.
Mu was named to three USA Track and Field teams last summer; The Pan American Games team, the Pan American U20 team, and the USA v Europe Match team. Competing amongst professionals and collegians, the 17-year-old earned a fifth-place finish in the 800 meters at the U.S. National Championships/World Championship trials in Des Moines in July.
The signing period continues for Track and Field through next summer. Additional signees will be announced as they become official leading up to the 2020-21 academic year.
Athing Mu – 400/800/1500
· 400 – 51.98
· 800 – 2:01.17
· 1500 – 4:33.04
· Trenton Central HS
· Trenton Track Club
· Trenton, New Jersey
