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More than any other collegiate championship, the NCAA outdoors is a pressure cooker. In the four-day carnival, starting today, more than 1,000 athletes will compete in more than 40 events for a chance to bring home individual and team national titles. Though events overlap and run simultaneously throughout the day, at any moment the nation's fastest woman or the nation's best athlete could be crowned.
But the Texas women's track team aims to channel the pressure into top performances in its 10 events this week. By adding a new dimension to the historically strong corps of sprinters and hurdlers, the team hopes to claim its first title since repeating in 1998 and 1999.
Much of the pressure falls on sophomore Sanya Richards, the defending 400-meter champion who has yet to lose a 400 meter race in her collegiate career. However, Richards only ran a handful of 400-meter races over the season to qualify for the regionals, choosing rather to win the 100- and 200-meter titles at the Big 12 meet. But through all the attention she has garnered so far in her career, the goal remains the same.
"This meet has a huge weight, and the whole team has a burden," Richards said. "But I'm just focused on scoring 10 points for the team in my events."
Richards leads the sprinters, starting with freshman Marshevet Hooker in the 100. Hooker will compete with the heavyweights of the track world as she runs against defending national champion Muna Lee of LSU and Lauryn Williams of Miami.
In the 200, Texas sends three runners, including versatile sophomore Ashlee Williams. A sprinter and a hurdler, Williams ran away with a 22.79-second performance in the Midwest regional, surprising everyone except her training partners with the school's fifth-fastest time ever. Alongside Williams will be sophomore LaTasha Kerr and senior Natasha Staten.
That Texas pits multiple runners in several events only adds to the team dimension they hold so dear.
"The individuals make our team, but the team inspires our runners," head coach Bev Kearney said. "Right now we're focused on winning the national title."
The marquee event of the weekend will be the 400, pitting Richards against top runners from LSU and UCLA. But alongside Richards will be freshman teammate Jerrika Chapple, who very well could run under the radar to score points for the team. In the 800-meter, Evelyn Dwyer runs as the only Longhorn in the heat.
The hurdles are especially crucial for the team to score points, as Texas sends two seniors hungry for their first NCAA hurdle title. The 100-meter hurdles marks the rematch of Texas' Nichole Denby and LSU's Lolo Jones, who ran a 12.78 photo-finish race at the Texas Relays. Along with the two will be UCLA's Sheena Johnson, Nebraska's Priscilla Lopes and Texas' Raasin McIntosh, all of whom ran sub-13-second races this season. Ashlee Williams will also run, and after a 13-flat run at the regional could also score crucial points.
McIntosh also hopes for her first outdoor title in the 400, where she finished second and third in the past two years. Pitted again with UCLA's Johnson and South Carolina's Lashinda Demus, McIntosh will do everything to protect her home track.
In the field, two freshmen should aim and leap Texas to higher contention by scoring points - shying away from their history in the sprints and hurdles. Michelle Carter finally out-threw Nebraska's defending national champion Becky Breisch in the Midwest regional with a personal-best 56-foot-7.5-inch toss. In addition, Hooker will compete in the long jump, where she once again hopes to out-jump Nebraska's Ineta Radevica.
But the clincher for the meet will be the relays, where Texas hopes to overcome LSU's dominance in the 4x100-meter relay. The final event of the night could determine the championship, where Texas will be ready to defend its 4x400-meter title.
"Nationals mean so much, and I hope this is the year it comes true," Richards said. "If we're still in it [by the 4x400], I know we'll come with it."
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