Feb. 25, 2009
When: Friday-Saturday, Feb. 27-28, 2009
Where: Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium at the McFerrin Athletic Center, College Station, Texas
AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 11 Texas women’s track and field team heads to Gilliam Indoor this Friday on the campus of Texas A&M for the 2009 Big 12 Indoor Championships. The two-day meet will take place, Feb. 27-28, and will be the Longhorns last prep for the NCAA Indoor Championships, also held in College Station.
Longhorns in the Big 12 Championship
UT is one of the most successful teams at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Longhorns have captured five conference crowns since 1997, tying Nebraska for the most of any program in the league. UT won the Indoor meet in 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2006.
A Familiar Setting…
This weekend will mark the third meet for Texas this season at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium. Luckily, the Longhorns have produced their best showings of the season in College Station and have improved each time they enter the building. Eight Horns posted a better mark in at least one of their events at the Texas A&M Invitational (Feb. 13-14), than they did at the Big 12 vs. SEC Showdown (Jan. 31). High jumper Destinee Hooker owns the track’s meet record with her 6-1.25 clearance at the A&M Invitational on Feb. 14.
2008 Big 12 Indoor Championship Recap
The Longhorns posted a fourth place finish at the Conference meet a year ago, totaling 79 points behind All-Conference performances from Alexandria Anderson (4th – 60m, 4th – 200m), Bianca Knight (3rd – 60m, 5th – 200m), Temeka Kincy (2nd – 800m) and Betzy Jimenez (5th – mile run). Texas’ distance medley relay squad placed place in a UT-record breaking performance of 11:19.93.
Already Big 12 Champions…
Senior
Alexandria Anderson and junior
Destinee Hooker enter this weekend’s meet having already earned one Big 12 Indoor Title and both will be aiming to add more to their resumes. Anderson was the league’s 60-meter indoor champ in 2007 and after finishing fourth in 2008, the senior sprinter will be leaving it all out on the track in hopes of becoming just the second Longhorn to win the 60m title twice in their career.
Hooker, who is returning after sitting out the 2008 campaign to train with USA Volleyball, will be looking to reclaim the High Jump Title, after winning the event in 2006 and 2007. The junior has already reached 6-3.25 this season, which places her atop the league and second in the nation in the event.
NCAA Leaders and Provisional Qualifiers
A group of Longhorns have met the NCAA provisional standard in their events. Junior Destinee Hooker has easily met the NCAA automatic mark in the high jump with her second in the nation jump of 6-3.25 (1.91m). Short sprinter Alex Anderson has met the provisional mark in each of her 60-meter races this year and her season-best 7.33 time ranks No. 9 in the nation. Anderson also reached the provisional standard in the 200 with a 23.42, No. 4 nationally.
Thrower Jordyn Brown tossed a 52-8.75 (16.07m) in the shot put to easily out-throw the NCAA provisional mark of 15.20m. Triple jumper Chantel Malone also met the provisional mark with her jump of 41-10.5.
The Horns’ 4x400 meter relay of LaKeidra Stewart, Angele Cooper, Judy Nwosu, and Stacey-Ann Smith currently hold the seventh-fastest collegiate time with their 3:38.49, also a provisional qualifier. They are the only foursome to be ranked nationally in the event that is solely comprised of freshmen.
Big 12 Leaders
Junior Destinee Hooker leads the league in the high jump (6-3.25/1.91m) while freshman Victoria Lucas is tied for fifth in the event (5-8.75/1.75m) and is the top freshman in the league. Junior Jordyn Brown is second in the shot put (52-8.75/16.07m) and fifth in the weight throw with a career-best mark of 60-10.75 (18.56m). Senior Alexandria Anderson has the third-fastest 60-meter time (7.33) and the No. 3 200m mark (23.68), while sophomore Chantel Malone is sixth in the triple jump (41-10.5/12.76m) and fifth in the long jump with her career-best mark of 20-7.75 (6.29m). Freshman LaKeidra Stewart has the 12th-fastest time in the 60-meter (7.49) while freshmen Alexandria Pegram and Stacey-Ann Smith rank 15th (7.60) and 17th (7.62), respectively. Smith also holds the fourth-fastest 400m time, 54.45, followed by Judy Nwosu’s 54.76 that places her fifth.
A Check of the Rankings…
Texas moved to No. 11 in the latest poll released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Feb. 25. Texas A&M earned the No. 1 rating, followed by No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Virginia Tech and No. 6 Florida State. Other Big 12 teams in the top 25 include No. 16 Baylor, No. 17 Texas Tech, No. 24 Nebraska and No. 23 Colorado.
Longhorns sign three to National Letters of Intent
Sprinter Chalonda Goodman (Newnan, Ga), high jumper Alicia Peterson (Sherman, Texas) and distance specialist Melissa Mahoney (Cypress, Texas) have all signed National Letters of Intent to enroll at the University of Texas starting in the 2009-10 academic season. Goodman, a three-time Georgia Class 5A state champion in the 100 and 200 meters has set personal bests of 11.31 (100m), 23.22 (200m) and 7.04 (55m).
Peterson, the 2007 UIL State high jump champion, owns a personal-best clearance of five feet, 10 inches and will also compete in the 200 and 400 meter events while on the Forty Acres. Mahoney was the 2008 District 15-5A two-mile champion (11:54.00) and will join the distance group with personal-best times of 5:28.26 (1,600m) and 19:04.88 (5,000m).
Hooker tabbed as Big 12 co-Athlete of the Week (Jan. 20)
After qualifying for nationals in the high jump at the Leonard Hilton Memorial, junior Destinee Hooker garnered the third Big 12 Athlete of the Week honor of her career and first for the Longhorns this season. Hooker broke the meet record with her mark of 6-3.25 (1.91m) and out jumped second place by six-and-a-half inches.
2007-08 Season Recap
The 2008 season saw Texas continue its strong tradition as a powerhouse program. The Longhorns finished in the top five at the Big 12 Championship and extended its streak of top-10 NCAA team finishes to six with a fourth-place performance at the 2008 National Championship. The Longhorns scored 36 points behind six individual All-America honors and one All-American relay to finish among the nation’s best teams.
