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When: Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008
Where: Houston, Texas (Yeoman Field House/UH Alumni Center)
Track: Flat, six lane, 200-meter oval with eight-lane straightaway

AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 18 Texas men's track and field team opens the 2008 indoor season at the Houston Indoor Opener at Yeoman Field House in Houston, Texas on Saturday, Jan. 12.

2008 Preview
Texas begins its quest to defend its Big 12 Indoor Championship and improve on the program's highest NCAA team finish from the 2007 season. Ranked in the top 20 to start the season, the Longhorns are a completely different team from last season as they have added 15 newcomers to the 2007-08 roster.

The Longhorns returned enough points to make the poll. Junior and two-time NCAA champion Leo Manzano (Marble Falls, Texas) begins his defense of his conference and national title in the mile. Triple jumpers Elliot O'Hare (Austin, Texas) and Joseph Davis (San Antonio, Texas) should add points to a deep jumps group. Combined events student athlete Andrew Webb (Midland, Texas) and middle distance All-Americans Jacob Hernandez (Magnolia, Texas) and Jake Morse (Arlington, Texas) are expected to score points on the national level this season.

The large group of first-year Longhorns includes athletes with a range of experience. Junior transfers and twin brothers Tevan and Tevas Everett (Bel-Aire, Kan.) scored at the conference level during their first two seasons. Freshmen Danzell Fortson (Fort Worth, Texas) and Kenny Greaves (Coppell, Texas) have U.S. track and field experience while rookie high jumper Devon Bond (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) and pole vaulter Maston Wallace (Houston, Texas) were among the national prep leaders in 2007.

2007-08 Indoor Schedule
The preparation for the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., from Mar 14-15 begins in January in the state of Texas. The Longhorns compete at the Houston Indoor Opener this Saturday (Jan. 12). UT returns to Houston for the two-day Leonard Hilton Invitational (Jan. 18-19).

From Jan. 25-26, Texas will make its first of three trips to Fayetteville for the Razorback Invitational. The following week, a small group will compete at the Heritage Classic (Feb. 1-2) in Nampa, Idaho.

The Longhorns then continue the regular season with the New Balance Invitational from Feb. 8-9. Texas won the team championship at the 2007 meet.

After a two-week break, UT heads to Fayetteville for the most competitive meet of the regular season -­ the Tyson Invitational -­ a meet that brings in the top college and professional athletes.

The Big 12 Championships kick off the championship season for Texas, from Feb. 29 to March 1 in Lincoln, Neb.

Texas will schedule a last chance meet on March 7 or March 8 before heading to nationals to conclude the season.

2006-07 Season Recap
The Longhorns shared their first Big 12 Indoor Championships in a two-way tie with Nebraska at the 2007 league title meet. UT raised the bar at nationals with its' highest NCAA team finish. Texas placed third scoring 44 points behind two national champions ­- Manzano and Donovan Kilmartin (Eagle, Idaho) -­ and seven All-Americans.

2007 Preseason Track and Field Rankings
UT was ranked No. 18 in the preseason poll released on Dec. 20 by the USTFCCCA. The 25-team poll has a new format this year that was voted on by the coaches at the USTFCCCA National Convention. The USTFCCCA Division I Indoor track and field rankings are compiled solely from NCAA descending order lists. The preseason rankings are based on the final descending order list of the previous season. Florida State tops the preseason rankings, looking to add a NCAA Indoor title to the back-to-back outdoor championships from 2006 and 2007. Washington, Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Louisville, Stanford, Northern Iowa, Arkansas and Baylor round out the top 10 teams. The Big 12 leads all conferences with seven teams in the national poll, ahead of six teams from the Southeastern Conference. Joining the Horns and 10th-ranked Baylor are: No. 11 Kansas, No. 12 Nebraska, No. 17 Oklahoma, No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 23 Missouri.

And let the Olympic Games begin
The 2008 season is a special one for the sports world as the best athletes across all sports are vying for an Olympic gold medal.

In track and field, the qualifying season started on Jan. 1, 2007 and will end on July 23, 2008. Athletes must meet the 'A' or 'B' standard in order to make the Olympic roster. The athletics events will take place during the final 10 days of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (Aug. 15-24) at Beijing Stadium.

The U.S. team will hold its Olympic Trials from June 27-July 6 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The top finishers from each event will represent the U.S. at the 2008 Olympic Games in China.