Feb. 19, 2008

IRVING, Texas--The members of the Texas distance medley relay team have been named the Big 12 Men's Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week, while Nickesha Anderson (Kansas) and Bianca Knight (Texas) were chosen as Big 12 Women's Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week for meets held Feb. 12-18. This is the first accolade of Anderson and Knight's career and the first time a weekly honor has been awarded to the members of a team event.

Big 12 Men's Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week
Texas Distance Medley Relay Team
(Danzell Fortson, Jacob Hernandez, Leo Manzano, Kyle Miller)
The No. 13 Texas men's track and field team set a world record of nine minutes, 25.97 seconds in the distance-medley relay on the final day of the 2008 Tyson Invitational. The Longhorns' quartet shattered five records in meeting the NCAA automatic qualifying standard of 9:34 and taking over the top spot in the event at the collegiate level. Texas leads the descending order list by almost 11 seconds.

Big 12 Women's Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week
Nickesha Anderson, Kansas, Jr., Hanover, Jamaica/Missouri Baptist (Mo.) Anderson claimed the fastest 200-meter time of any woman in the world this year, winning the event at the Tyson Invitational. Her time of 22.94 seconds makes her the first woman to break the 23-second barrier this season. Anderson's time also set a school record and automatically qualified her for the NCAA Championships. She also tied a school record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.28 seconds, placing her in the top 10 in the nation.

Bianca Knight, Texas, Fr., Ridgeland, Miss./Ridgeland
Knight ran the fastest 60-meter dash ever by a Longhorn freshman (7.21 seconds) and the third-fastest 60-meter time recorded overall this season. She won the event at the Tyson Invitational, beating LSU's Samantha Henry, who owns the second-fastest time in the nation this season (7.18 seconds). Knight also ran the second-fastest 200-meter time in the country with a NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 23.07 seconds.

2008 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week

Male
Jan. 15 Quentin Iglehart-Summers, Baylor, Jr.
Jan. 22 Scott Sellers, Kansas State, Jr.
Jan. 29 James Galvan, Iowa State, Jr.; Shardae Boutte, Oklahoma, Sr.
Feb. 5  Dusty Jonas, Nebraska, Sr.
Feb. 12 Jordan Scott, Kansas, So.
Feb. 19 Texas Distance Medley Relay Team (Fortson, Hernandez, Manzano, Miller)

Female
Jan. 15 Lauren Hagans, Baylor, Sr.
Jan. 22 Loren Groves, Kansas State, Jr.; Alexandria Anderson, Texas, Jr.
Jan. 29 Sally Kipyego, Texas Tech, Jr.
Feb. 5  Kate Sultanova, Kansas, Sr.
Feb. 12 Kate Sultanova, Kansas, Sr.
Feb. 19 Nickesha Anderson, Kansas, Jr.; Bianca Knight, Texas, Fr.