April 13, 2004

TCU track & field standout MaKeatha Cooper has been honored as the Conference USA outdoor track & field Athlete of the Week, the conference office announced today. Cooper was honored for her outstanding performance at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station last Saturday.

Cooper, a freshman from Grandview, Missouri, posted a school record time of 13.24 seconds in the 100 meter hurdles to take the silver medal behind only Nicole Denby (13.02), the All-American from the University of Texas. Cooper established the school mark at Arlington two weeks ago when she broke the tape in 13.41 seconds. Prior to this season, the TCU record in the event was 13.65 seconds, set by Chessna Davis in 1997.

This is the second time that the freshman has been honored by the league office this year. She earned the award once during the indoor season, en route to a conference title in the 60-meter hurdles.

In other TCU track & field news, the The TCU Flyin' Frogs men's track & field team slipped one notch to sixth place in the latest Trackwire Top 25 poll, released today.

The Frogs are expected to tally 31 points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, which will be held in Austin, Texas, June 9-12. Last week, the poll had TCU in fifth place with 32 projected points.

The poll has the following Frogs slated to score points at the meet: Michael Frater -3rd in the 100; Jabari Fields - 8th in the 100; Jerry Harris - 4th in the 400; Jackson Langat - 4th in the 800; 4x100 meter relay - 2nd; 4x400 meter relay - 5th; Aundre Edwards - 7th in the long jump.

LSU supplants Florida at the top of the Trackwire 25 for men, limiting the Gators' sojourn at No. 1 to only a week. Florida slides to No. 3, as SEC rival Arkansas closes to No. 2 in Trackwire's ranking. LSU is slated to score 51 points, to Arkansas's 44 and Florida's 43. Arizona State (34) has moved past Auburn (33) and TCU for the next three slots. Nebraska, Ohio State and Baylor are 7-8-9, while SMU and Georgia are tied for 10th place.

On the women's side, the Frogs' 4x100 meter relay unit is slated to place eighth, earning one point in the team standings.

The Frogs will be in action again on Saturday, when they host the fifth annual TCU Invitational at the Lowdon Track & Field Complex on the TCU campus. Field events get underway at 11 a.m., while the running events start at noon.

Trackwire Men's Poll

1. LSU 51

2. Arkansas 44

3. Florida 43

4. Arizona State 34

5. Auburn 33

6. TCU 31

7. Nebraska 29

8. Ohio State 26

9. Baylor 24

10. SMU 23

Georgia 23