TCU to host Horned Frog Invitational
3/21/2008 12:00:00 AM
March 21, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU track and field team will begin its outdoor season at home on Saturday with the second annual Horned Frog Invitational at the Lowdon Track & Field Complex."We are ecited to get going with the outdoor season," head coach Darryl Anderson said. "Hopefully the weather will hold up and we will have a good meet. We have some very good teams coming here in both the college and high school ranks. Overall, we are looking forward to getting outdoors and competing again."
The meet will include both college and high school teams from the state of Texas and will begin with the high school girls high jump at 10 a.m. College running events are set to begin at 11:30 a.m. with the women's 1500-meter run.
Field events are set to start later today with the men's and women's discus in Fort Worth at 5 p.m.
Heat sheets should be available to the public Friday afternoon or Friday evening.
Competing in the Horned Frog Invitational are TCU, UTA and North Texas. The meet also includes 21 area high school teams. The high school women's teams cometing are North Crowley, Mansfield Timberview, Mansfield Summit, Fort Worth Dunbar, Fort Worth Wyatt, Fort Worth Arlington Heights, Fort Worth Eastern Hills, Richland Hills Birdville, Odessa Permian, Trinity Christian, Western Hills, Mansfield, Cleburne, Burleson, Fort Worth Boswell, Crowley, Little Elm, Dallas Conrad, Bishop Lynch and Keller. Men's teams set for the event are Odessa Permian, Fort Worth Wyatt, Fort Worth Southwest, Little Elm, Dallas Carter, Trinity Christian and Western Hills.
Saturday's meet will mark the first of a school-record three home meets, which includes the Mountain West Conference Championship on May 14, this season for TCU. The Horned Frogs will also host the TCU Invitational on April 18-19.
Admittance into the meet is $5 for adults and $3 for youth (high school or younger). Saturday will be a busy day at TCU as the baseball, women's tennis, and track and field teams will all be in action at home. To assist with parking, a free shuttle will run continuously between Lot 2 (on the West side of Amon G. Carter Stadium) and the three athletics venues between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Live results will be available on www.gofrogs.com. Complete results at the conclusion of Saturday can also be viewed at www.gofrogs.com.
Hodge Honored By MWC
Senior Virgil Hodge was selected on Thursday as the Mountain West Conference Women's Indoor Track and Field Student-Athlete of the Year. Hodge, a six-time All-American, finished the indoor season earning All-America honors at the NCAA Championships by placing seventh in the women's 200 meters. In Fayetteville, she clocked a season-best time of 23.20. By doing so she became the only female in Horned Frog history to hold at least six such honors.
The St. Kitts native earned multiple crowns at the MWC Championships. She crossed the finish line ahead of the field in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes for the second-consecutive year, earning herself the 2008 Women's Outstanding Performance award to accompany her two All-Conference performances.
Overall, Hodge was named MWC Indoor Track and Field Female Athlete of the Week twice for the season, while also holding the 2008 best indoor times for the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes.
At the NCAA's
TCU received a total of eight All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor National Championships.
Leading the way for TCU was Neidra Covington. The sophomore earned All-America honors in both the triple and long jump. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native, soared 6.22m (20-05.00) to place ninth overall in the long jump on Friday. She followed by leaping 13.04m (42-09.50) in the women's triple jump to finish eighth in her flight and 14th overall in the event.
Senior Virgil Hodge collected her sixth All-America certificate of her career in the women's 200 meters. She recorded a season-best time of 23.20 seconds in the finals of the women's 200 meters to finish third in her heat and seventh overall. Hodge finished in seventh-place for the second-consecutive year at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She is the only female in school history with at least six All-America honors.
On the men's side, Jonathan Jackson earned his second All-American award of his career by soaring 16.32m (53-06.50) in the men's triple jump to finish third overall in the event. Jackson's mark broke his own school record.
Finally, the men's 4x400 relay of Che Chavez, Dell Guy, Clemore Henry and Matthew Love recorded All-America honors after earning runner-up honors in the event by clocking a season best time of 3:06.19 seconds. The quartet just missed being crowned National Champions as Baylor won the event by posting a time of 3:05.66.
Overall, TCU posted its highest finish on the men's side at the NCAA Indoors since 2004, while also recording its fourth highest finish in program history at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Flyin' Frogs finished the NCAA's with 14 points. On the women's side, TCU finished 56th overall with two points.
Home Meet Information
TCU for the first time in school history will host three meets this spring at the Lowdon Track & Field Complex, including the Mountain West Conference Championships. TCU will kickoff its outdoor season with the second annual Horned Frog Invitational on Saturday. Th Flyin' Frogs will then host the ninth annual TCU Invitational on April 18-19 and the Mountain West Conference Outdoor Championships on May 14-17.
Horned Frog Invitational in 2007
TCU opened its 2007 outdoor season with a bang by recording 12 regional qualifying marks in the inaugural Horned Frog Invitational.
TCU earned 11 of its 12 regional qualifying marks on the track, including three by the Frogs' relay teams. TCU's 4x400 men's (Jones, Delaney, Cooper, Guy) and women's (D. Jones, J. Jones, Blaylock, John) relay teams each earned victories and the women's team earned a regional qualifying mark. Both 4x100 relay teams picked up regional qualifying marks, but the men's team (Delaney, Warner, Guy, Cooper) placed second while the women (Paul, Hodge, J. Jones, Blaylock) finished first.
Earning NCAA regional marks on the women's side were Virgil Hodge (100 meters), Deborah Jones (400 meters), Jamee Jones (100 meters), Candis Kelley (shot put) and Kishelle Paul (100-meter hurdles).
Up Next
TCU will close the month of March at the UTA/Bobby Lane Arlington Invitational in Arlington, Texas.
Players Mentioned
