The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women's Track and Field preview: Texas A&M Invitational
02.11.2009 | Track & Field / Cross Country w, Track & Field / Cross Country
Feb. 11, 2009
Women's Track and Field Meet Preview: Texas A&M Invitational AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 7 Texas women's track and field team will take its final trip to College Station before the Big 12 Championship this weekend for the Texas A&M Invitational, Friday-Saturday, Feb. 13-14. Teams Competing in the A&M Invitational NCAA Leaders and Provisional Qualifiers 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 in the vent with her jump of 41-7.25. The Horns' 4x400 meter relay of Malone, Angele Cooper, Judy Nwosu, and Stacey-Ann Smith currently hold the sixth-fastest collegiate time with their 3:38.85, also a provisional qualifier. Big 12 leaders A Check of the Rankings... Longhorns sign three to National Letters of Intent 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) 2007-08 Season Recap
When: Friday-Saturday, Feb. 13-14, 2009
Where: Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium at the McFerrin Athletic Center, College Station, Texas
Live Stats: www.flashresults.com
The seventh-ranked Longhorns will be one of seven top 25 teams taking part in the A&M Invitational - No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 23 UTEP, No. 24 Miami and No. 25 Baylor. The field also includes Houston, Louisiana Tech, Northwestern Louisiana, Rice, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, SMU, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas Southern, Texas State, TCU, UT-Pan American and UT-Arlington.
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 nation-leading 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. 7 in the nation. Anderson also reached the provisional standard in the 200 with a 23.68, No. 11 nationally.
Junior Destinee Hooker leads the league in the high jump (6-3.25/1.91m) while freshman Victoria Lucas is 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 fourth 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 seventh-fastest 200m mark (23.68), while sophomore Chantel Malone is sixth in the triple jump (41-7.25/12.68m) and eight in the long jump with her career-best mark of 19-6 (5.94m). Freshman LaKeidra Stewart has the 10th-fastest time in the 60-meter (7.49) while freshmen Alexandria Pegram and Stacey-Ann Smith rank 14th (7.60) and 16th (7.62), respectively.
Texas moved to No. 7 in the latest poll released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Feb. 4. Texas A&M earned the No. 1 rating, followed by No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 LSU and No. 6 Florida State.
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).
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.
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.
