The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2020
- Class:
- 2009
A three-time NCAA individual champion and 20-time All-American, Alexandria Anderson helped lead the Longhorns to the 2006 NCAA Indoor team title. Anderson, a sprints and relays specialist, is the third-most decorated All-American in Texas Track and Field history, and was the first Longhorn, regardless of gender, to earn at least 20 All-America honors since Carlette Guidry (1988-91). Texas claimed three Top-5 and four Top-10 finishes at the NCAA Indoor meet and three Top-6 showings at the NCAA Outdoor meet during Anderson's four seasons in Austin. As a freshman, Anderson collected three All-America honors. She helped UT's 4x400-meter relay team place third at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships. At the Outdoor counterpart that same year, Anderson won her first NCAA title as part of Texas' 4x100-meter relay team and placed seventh individually in the 100-meter dash. Anderson doubled her tally as a sophomore in 2007, earning six All-America honors across the Indoor and Outdoor campaigns. The Chicago native earned All-American status five more times as a junior in 2008 and six times as a senior in 2009. She closed out her collegiate career by winning a pair of individual and relay titles at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships. There, she was part of UT's victorious 4x400-meter relay team and topped the podium in the 100-meter dash. To this day, she is still one of only four women in program history to win the NCAA Outdoor 100-meter title. She also won three individual Big 12 titles during her collegiate career. Her first came on the 4x100-meter relay during the 2006 Outdoor season, the second in the 60-meter dash during the 2007 Indoor season, and the third in the 100-meter dash at the 2009 Big 12 Outdoor Championships. Anderson was a two-time team MVP, earning the honor in 2007 and 2009. She also was named the Co-Longhorn Athlete of the Year and received the Jill A. Sterkel Leadership Award in 2009. In the Texas record book, she still ranks as the fourth-fastest Longhorn in the Outdoor 100-meter dash (11.02), fifth-fastest in the Indoor 60-meter (7.17) and Outdoor 200-meter dashes (22.60), and ninth-fastest in the Indoor 200-meter dash (23.17). Anderson graduated from Texas with a degree in communication studies in 2009. She was the recipient of the 2006-07 UT Women's Athletics Barbara Jordan Endowed Scholarship. Following her time on the Forty Acres, Anderson went on to be a key member for Team USA in the relays, helping the Americans medal three times in the 4x100-meter relay at the World Championships. She earned a gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu and the 2014 World Relay Championships in Nassau. Anderson also was a silver medalist in the 4x100-meter relay at the 2013 World Championships in Moscow. After eight years of medal-winning success internationally with Team USA, Anderson retired and began her career in the fitness industry. She received her ACE (American Council on Exercise) Certification in January 2018 and continues to pursue her passion of fitness, nutrition and sports. She became a personal trainer, meditation instructor and nutrition specialist. Anderson launched her own business, Essential Fitness ATX, in the fall of 2018 in Austin. In addition, Anderson completed her yoga teacher training in March 2020. She is heavily involved in several community organizations and non-profits and volunteers on a weekly basis, including with the Austin Partners in Education. Anderson is also a mentor at Ortega Elementary School in East Austin, where she was recently named their Mentor of the Year.
