The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Indoor Championships
No. 16 Women's Track and Field finishes fourth at NCAA Indoor Championships
03.15.2008 | Track & Field / Cross Country w, Track & Field / Cross Country
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- The No. 16 Texas Women's Track and Field team scored 36 points for fourth-place at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. UT, who had three NCAA qualifiers and a provisional qualifying relay, registered top-three finishes in the 60- and 200-meter dashes, and added a fourth-place showing in the 4x400-meter relay.
Arizona State won the team title for the second consecutive season, scoring 51 points. LSU finished second with 43 points ahead of third-place Michigan (39 points). Stanford rounded out the top five with a 32-point performance.
The Longhorns finished in the top five in the nation for the third time since 2003. UT captured the 2006 team title and placed fifth in 2003.
The 1,600-meter relay, ranked last in the group of 12 entering into the meet, finished fourth and scored six points in a season-best time of 3:33.69. Junior Alexandria Anderson (Chicago, Ill.) cruised through the first 400-meter segment before handing off in first place with a 10-meter lead. Junior Katara Rosby (Baton Rouge, La.) kept the Longhorns in the top two with Tennessee through her segment. Freshman Bianca Knight (Ridgeland, Miss.) quickly made up the short-lived lead by Tennessee by passing the Lady Vols' Kimarra McDonald to move into first. Senior Temeka Kincy (Indianapolis, Ind.) held the lead until the final straightaway when ASU anchor Jeavon Benjamin edged Kincy by six-hundredths of a second (3:33.63 to 3:33.69).
Earlier in the day, Anderson nearly captured the NCAA 60-meter dash championship as she finished second to LSU's Kelly-Ann Baptiste by six-thousandths of a second (7.163 to 7.169). In earning her second top-three finish of the meet, Anderson improved her lifetime-best time to 7.17 seconds. She still stands at No. 3 on UT's all-time performers' list behind Guidry's 7.12 seconds from the 1991 indoor season and Knight's 7.16-second showing from Friday night's preliminary round. Anderson finished with three All-America honors to bring her career total to 12 national accolades.
Fellow sprinter Knight added a third-place showing to her NCAA 200-meter national championship from Saturday night as she posted a time of 7.21 seconds in the 60-meter final. She finishes the meet with one NCAA title and three All-American honors at her first national championship meet.
Also a first-time NCAA qualifier for the first time in her career, sophomore Jordyn Brown (Mesquite, Texas) tossed 51-6.5 (15.71m) to place in the top 15 competitors in the shot put.
Highlights of the two-day championship will air on Thursday, March 20 from 3-4:30 p.m. Central on ESPN2.
UT opens the 2008 outdoor season this Saturday (March 22) with the UT Invitational at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
NCAA RESULTS (day two)
60-meter dash FINAL
1. Kelly Ann Baptist (LSU), 7.17 (7.163)
2. Alexandria Anderson (Texas), 7.17 (7.169)
3. Bianca Knight (Texas), 7.21
4x400-meter relay FINAL
1. LSU, 3:31.14
4. A. Anderson, B. Knight, K. Rosby, T. Kincy (Texas), 3:33.69
Shot put FINAL
1. Mariam Kevkhishvili (Florida), 58-6 (17.83m)
15. Jordyn Brown (Texas), 51-6.5 (15.71m)
POST-MEET QUOTES
HEAD COACH BEV KEARNEY
On the finish of the 1,600-meter relay: We had the slowest time qualifying entering the meet. We were 12th coming into the event. We were real excited about what we came in to do. We knew we had to score well in the mile relay. We were in the slowest of the slow heat. They ran their hearts out. Almost everyone ran under their season best.
On finishing higher than the season's predictions: When you are ranked that low -- you don't believe it. This team fought; we were a point here and a point there from finishing in the top two. We think this is a really good foundation coming into this season. We are real excited about ourselves and what we can do more than anything else.
On the majority of the group being first time qualifiers: It's a matter of keeping them focused on their goals all season. It becomes second nature when you get into this environment. That's hopefully what we did, and we hope to do a better job going into outdoors this season.
