AUSTIN, Texas -- The fifth-ranked Texas women's track and field team head to Lincoln, Neb., looking for a second consecutive Big 12 Conference Outdoor Championships. The reigning champions will compete at Ed Weir Stadium from Friday to Sunday, May 11-13 on the campus of the University of Nebraska.
UT tallied 131 points to win the 2006 championship by 19.50 points over Texas A&M (11.50). The Longhorns had eight first-place performances including three wins by Texas-ex Marshevet Hooker (100, 200, and long jump) who was tabbed high-point scorer for the second consecutive season.
This year, the Longhorns have 11 student-athletes who have registered 18 marks in the top 8 in 22 conference events. That number includes league leaders senior Michelle Carter (Ovilla, Texas) in the shot put, sophomore Alexandria Anderson (Chicago, Ill.) in the 100 and second-year Longhorn Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) in the high jump. Carter and Anderson have additional top eight marks as Carter is sixth in the discus and Anderson is second in the 200 and the 400.
The meet begins on Friday at 1 p.m. CT with the men's decathlon. The first women's event starts at 1:30 p.m. CT with the heptathlon 100-meter hurdles. The discus (men 2 p.m.; women 5 p.m.) and 10,000-meter run (women 6:45 p.m.; men 7:30 p.m.) are the only open events that take place on the first day.
The final day of the decathlon begins at 9:30 a.m. CT on Saturday. The running prelims start at 4 p.m. CT with the 1,500-meter run. The field events begin at noon with the men's hammer throw.
Sunday's running events start with the Special Olympics 100-meter dash for boys and girls at 1:15 p.m. CT, followed by the women's 4x100-meter relay final. The field events begin at noon with the women's javelin, and the men's shot put, triple jump and pole vault.
The team championship and awards presentation is slated for 5:45 p.m. CT on Sunday.
NCAA national champions Carter and Hooker are defending champions from 2006 in the shot put and high jump, respectively. Carter has taken four of the last five shot put championships both indoor and outdoor. Hooker took both high jump titles indoor and outdoor as a freshman, and walked away with the 2007 indoor conference championship.
Anderson and senior Jerrika Chapple (Lancaster, Texas) are returning 400 and 1,600 relay champions. Chapple earned a title as a leg of the 2004 and 2005 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays. Anderson was the second leg of the 2006 champion 400 relay.
The entire 2006 Big 12 Champion 4x440-yard relay returns for the 2007 competition. Sophomore All-American Janine Davis (Elizabeth, N.J.), junior All-American Jasmine Lee (Norwalk, Calif.), All-American Chapple and sophomore Katara Rosby (Baton Rouge, La.) won one of eight event championships last season.
The FSN Southwest network will air two hours of tape-delayed programming on Friday, May 18 at 11:30 a.m. CT and Saturday, May 19 at 1 p.m. CT.
This season, the Longhorns have 11 student-athletes (14 marks plus both relays) heading to the NCAA Midwest Regional in Des Moines, Iowa. The Big 12 meet marks the last chance for student-athletes to qualify for the regional competition.
