Texas is looking forward to this year's NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The final competition of the season will take place in Des Moines, Iowa, and will feature the nation's elite collegiate female track and field athletes. Four Longhorns have qualified and will compete at this week's championship event.
Senior Temeka Kincy (800 meters), junior Alex Anderson (100 and 200 meters) and sophomore Jordyn Brown (shot put) earned automatic advancement to the NCAA Championships with their top-five finishes at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in Lincoln, Neb. last weekend.
Anderson, who holds the third-best time nationally at 100 meters this season (11.10), advances to her third consecutive NCAA national outdoor 100-meter competition. As a freshman, she was seventh in the 2006 NCAA Championships (11.59) and sixth a year ago (11.42).
Sophomore Betzy Jimenez recorded a strong provisional-qualifying time in the 1,500-meter run previously this season and was granted an at-large berth to the NCAA Outdoor Championship. Jimenez just missed an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships at the Midwest Regionals, when she was edged out for fifth-place honors in the 1,500-meter finals by 0.65 seconds.
Texas head coach Bev Kearney continues to maintain a levelheaded perspective on the upcoming event. While it is an exciting time for her four participating athletes, Kearney works to keep her women focused and prepared. Nevertheless, she does not overlook the importance of this week's national championship.
"The regular season is easy," Kearney said. "There is no pressure. Right now we are approaching the biggest event of the season, not including the Olympics. It is what separates the women from the girls and the boys from the men."
"Ultimately, it is what it is," Kearney continued. "Either you're ready to go or you're not. We have a good four going to the national championship, and I think we're ready to go."
Kearney, a woman who is no stranger to adversity, believes her team has responded well to hardships and difficulties throughout the season.
"We have had a lot of mishaps, but we have also managed to work through trials and tribulations. " Kearney said. "It is most important to maintain focus and passion. That's what it is all about. Passion is the driving force behind success in any field."
Kearney has successfully managed to relay the importance of passion to her team, which has nothing but excitement for this week's national championship. The girls have dubbed themselves the "Fantastic Four," expressing constant enthusiasm and giddiness for the competition to come. Kearney's team is a close, well-bonded group that believes it has nothing to loose. That attitude, combined with Kearney's innate focus and intensity should make for a productive outcome at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championship.
With this year's strong, competitive field, however, Texas is going to have to put forth their best effort if they hope to achieve significant success.
The 27th annual NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship will be held June 11-14 in Des Moines, Iowa, at Drake University's Drake Stadium.
