Men's Track and Field preview: New Balance Collegiate Invitational
AUSTIN, Texas -- No. 2 Texas heads to New York City this weekend to join some of the nation's top indoor track and field squads at the sixth annual New Balance Collegiate Invitational.The two-day event begins Friday at 10 a.m. CST at The Armory Track and Field Center. Selected event finals will be held at Madison Square Garden Friday evening in conjunction with the 99th Millrose Games. After sending its heptathletes to the New Mexico Multi-Events Meet last week, Texas will bring a full squad of competitors to New York for a meet in which the Longhorns have had recent success.UT junior Andra Manson (Brenham, Texas) holds the meet record in the high jump with a leap of 7-6 and has won the event each of the last two seasons in New York. Senior Trey Hardee (Birmingham, Ala.) and junior Donovan Kilmartin (Eagle, Idaho) will be competing in their second meets in as many weeks after turning in NCAA automatic-qualifying marks in the heptathlon at New Mexico.Hardee broke Kilmartin's NCAA heptathlon record with a final score of 6,208 points, topping Kilmartin's previous mark by 72 points.Hardee and Kilmartin easily qualified to participate in the event at the NCAA Championships and are the top contenders to win the NCAA heptathlon title next month. Sprinters Quincy Boles (Harker Heights, Texas) and Jamaal Charles (Port Arthur, Texas) also return to competition after recording NCAA provisional marks in January. Boles is slated for the 60-meter dash, while Charles will take part in his first collegiate 60-meter hurdles event. Track and Field News named Charles a 2005 prep All-American in the 110 and 300-meter hurdle events. Sophomore John Rouse (Kaufman, Texas) set personal bests in the weight throw in each of his first two meets and will look to add a third this weekend as he chases the NCAA provisional mark. Several Longhorns are scheduled to make their respective season debuts, including senior Tomas Finol (Spring, Texas) and freshman Jacob Hernandez (Magnolia, Texas), among others. Joining Texas are some of the nation's top collegiate track powers, including LSU, Baylor, South Carolina and Tennessee.
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