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Two Big Meets Highlight Horns’ April Schedule

For the nationally-ranked Texas men’s and women’s track and field programs, the home schedule for April kicks off with one of the nation’s most prestigious and exciting competitions of the year – the 81st Annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

The four-day meet is the largest of the season for Texas and showcases the program’s world-class facilities. The meet, which attracts more than the 20,000-seat capacity at the Mike A. Myers Track and Field Stadium, takes place from Wednesday-Saturday, April 2-5 in the Lone Star state capital. World champions, high school, college and professional athletes take over the area during the first weekend in April, and this year the talent level will be even higher with the 2008 Beijing Olympics on the horizon. Many athletes will try to reach the Olympic qualifying standard at the meet, which traditionally kicks off the outdoor campaign.

The second large-scale meet of the year is the Penn Relays from Wednesday-Saturday, April 25-28. The race is the oldest and largest track and field carnival in the United States as more than 15,000 competitors compete in over 300 events. The four-day meet is held at Franklin Field on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Texas has a string of championships on the line as the men’s distance-medley and 4xmile relay teams look to defend their titles.

In between the Texas and Penn Relays, UT hosts some of the top teams in the region at the Texas Twilight on April 19. The single-day, small-scale meet includes teams from the region, running during the heart of the season.

This year, both Longhorns’ teams have started the indoor season with strong performances.

The UT men’s squad captured the 2008 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship in dramatic fashion, beating host-school Nebraska by two points in the final race, the 4x400-meter relay. Texas won its third consecutive Big 12 indoor title, becoming just the second team in conference history to win three straight. The distance-medley relay team captured the championship in a record-setting time, and four Longhorns won individual events to help UT to its fourth overall indoor championship.

The women’s track and field team opened the regular season in record-setting form as All-American junior Alexandria Anderson and U.S. high school record holder and Texas freshman Bianca Knight shattered 60-meter meet records at the Illinois Women’s Quadrangular and the Houston Indoor Invitationals, and posted four of the fastest 60-meter and 200-meter times in the NCAA this season. Anderson and Knight secured berths to nationals with automatic qualifying marks in both events. The distance-medley relay team, led by All-American and conference 800-meter runner-up Temeka Kincy, shattered the Texas school record as the Longhorns finished fourth at the 2008 Big 12 Indoor Track and field Championships in Lincoln, Neb.

All ticket information for all home track and field meets is available through the Texas Box Office. Texas Relays’ All-Session passes are available for $30 in the reserved section (lower east portion of the stadium) and $20 for general admission. Ticket prices for Friday-Saturday, April 4-5 are $15 for reserved seating and $10 for general admission. Admission is free for the Texas Twilight (April 19) and the first two days (April 2-3) of the Texas Relays.