When: Friday-Saturday, Feb. 15-16, 2008
Where: Fayetteville, Ark. (Randal Tyson Track Center)
Track: 60-degree banked, 200-meter oval with 55-meter straightaways
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Women's Track and Field team heads to the Tyson Invitational from Friday-Saturday, Feb. 15-16 on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
Ranked teams in attendance at Tyson
The Longhorns will face the toughest competition of the regular season as 17 of the 25 programs in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches rankings are scheduled to compete at the Tyson Invitational. Included in the field are six of the top seven programs -- No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Stanford, No. 6 and defending NCAA champion Arizona State and No. 7 and host school Arkansas.
Four Horns meet NCAA provisional standard in three events
Entering the fifth meet of the 2008 regular season, four Longhorns have met the NCAA provisional standard in their respective events. Junior All-American Alexandria Anderson (Chicago, Ill.) qualified in the 60-meter (7.30 seconds) and 200-meter (23.65) dashes. Fellow short sprinter and Texas freshman Bianca Knight (Ridgeland, Miss.) clocked 7.30 seconds, joining Anderson in the potential 60-meter pool at this year's NCAA indoor track and field championship. Senior pole vaulter Ashley Laughlin (Marble Falls, Texas) tied the provisional height of 12-11.5 (3.95m) twice this year to join the group of potential NCAA attendees. Sophomore thrower Jordyn Brown (Mesquite, Texas) wrote her name on the national list of shot putters, tossing a lifetime best of 51-3 (15.62m).
Anderson and Knight in top 10 of NCAA descending order list
Texas is one of four teams with multiple NCAA qualifiers in the 60-meter dash, joining LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M and South Carolina. Knight and Anderson are ninth and 10th, as both clocked 7.30 seconds to tie the meet record at the Houston Indoor Opener on Feb. 2.
2007 Tyson Invitational recap
Laughlin shattered the UT school record in the pole vault and NCAA national champion Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) neared the UT school record in the high jump at the 2007 Tyson Invitational. Laughlin vaulted 12-6.75 (3.83m) to reset the school record at the Tyson Invitational for the second consecutive season. Hooker made it over the bar at 6-5 (1.96m) to come within an inch of Texas ex Erin Aldrich's all-time high jump record (6-5.5). Then-senior Michelle Carter (Ovilla, Texas) met the NCAA automatic standard in a third-place performance in the shot put (57-5.5). Current Horn Temeka Kincy (Indianapolis, Ind.) provisionally qualified in winning the 800-meter run (2:08.81). The women's 4x400-meter relay (Jasmine Lee, Chauntae Bayne, Anderson and Devon Williams) qualified for NCAAs with the second-fastest time of the meet (3:38.22).
