On Saturday, the Longhorns hope that once again they'll sing a victorious "Eyes Of Texas," and just maybe a little "New York, New York."
Texas returns to New York City on Friday and Saturday to compete in the New Balance Collegiate Invitational at the Armory Track - a meet they've won the past two seasons.
The Longhorns, winners of their first two meets of the season, will be looking for their third team title. Standing between the Longhorns and their second-consecutive New Balance Collegiate Invitational title will be an extremely loaded field, featuring nine of the top 25 teams in the most recent U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll.
Rivals No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 7 Oklahoma, along with Kansas, will represent the Big 12 and give Texas a solid picture of the competition they will face at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, held in two weeks from Feb. 29 to March 1 in Lincoln, Neb.
Along with the conference rivals, Texas will also face No. 1 Tennessee, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 5 Brigham Young, No. 10 Kentucky, No. 12 LSU, No. 24 Cal-State Northridge and No. 25 Princeton this weekend at the Armory Track.
Much like the New Balance Invitational this weekend, the Big 12 Championships will feature a competitive, highly-ranked field. So, a strong finish in New York could be huge for the Longhorns, who could then carry their momentum from the Big Apple to the cornfields of Nebraska and compete for a Big 12 Indoor Championship.
The Longhorns are looking for big performances from pole-vaulters Maston Wallace and Will Paine, who both have won a meet this season. The duo will be pushing each other not only to win, but to clear the NCAA Provisional qualifier - a mark they each missed by one-half meter last meet.
In a meet with such strong teams, look for the Longhorns to post their best numbers in the relays. The Longhorn 4-by-400 crew, freshmen Andre Thomas and Danzell Fortson, along with juniors Jacob Hernandez and Tevan Everett, are just getting used to running together. With a few races under their belts, the maturing relay may put up an NCAA Provisional mark and finish well among such highly-ranked teams.
Freshman Kenny Greaves will be looking to continue his success from his last outing, where he recorded a personal best 2:47.10 in the 1,000-meter run.
Be the first to comment on this article!