The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women's Track and Field leads NCAA Indoor Championships after day one
03.10.2006 | XC: Women_Old, Track & Field / Cross Country
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- University of Texas junior Marshevet Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) captured her first NCAA long jump title and totaled 15 points to lead the Longhorns into first place on day one of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Texas women lead the competition with 25 points heading into the final day.
Hooker captured her third NCAA individual title and first indoor title by winning the long jump with a personal-best mark of 22-00.25 (6.71m), good for the sixth-highest mark in the world in 2006. Hooker trailed Rutgers' Shameka Marshall after four jumps but took the lead on her fifth jump before passing on the sixth after Marshall's final leap fell short. Hooker shattered her previous school-record mark of 21-6.25.
Hooker also added a fourth-place time of 22.86 in the 200 meters, easily topping her previous top mark of 23.11. She will have the chance to add more points on Saturday after qualifying for the 60-meter finals in a personal-best time of 7.18. She enters the event as the second seed behind LSU's Kelly Anne Baptiste.
Freshman Destinee Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) added six points for the UT women by taking third in the high jump and matching the top clearance turned in by the top two finishers. Hooker placed third because she cleared 6-1.25 on her second attempt, while the top two finishers cleared the height on their first attempts. The top four finishers, including Hooker, attempted 6-2.25 three times but could not successfully clear the height.
Senior Melaine Walker (Kingston, Jamaica) charted four points for the Texas women by placing fifth in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.07. Walker qualified for the finals with a third-place preliminary time of 8.05.
Freshman Alexandria Anderson (Chicago, Ill.) may have joined Marshevet Hooker in the 200-meter final if not for a suspected lane violation heading into the event's final turn. Anderson was disqualified from the event when event officials determined she veered out of her lane and into the unoccupied lane to her left.
Senior LaTashia Kerr (Houston, Texas) took part in the 400 meters where she placed 14th in 54.78. Kerr earned her qualifying mark for the event at last weekend's Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind.
Texas will look to protect its lead on the final day with entries in the shot put, 4X400-meter relay and the 60 meters. UT boasts top-five seeds in all three events.
Texas Women's Results
60 Meters (Preliminaries)
2. Marshevet Hooker - 7.18
15. Alexandria Anderson - 7.34
200 Meters (Preliminaries)
4. Marshevet Hooker - 23.03
Alexandria Anderson - DQ (lane violation)
400 Meters (Preliminaries)
14. LaTashia Kerr - 54.78
60-Meter Hurdles (Preliminaries)
3. Melaine Walker - 8.05
60-Meter Hurdles (Finals)
5. Melaine Walker - 8.07
High Jump (Finals)
3. Destinee Hooker - 6-1.25 (1.86m)
Long Jump (Finals)
1.Marshevet Hooker - 22-0.25 (6.71m)
