Hooker wins 2007 NCAA Outdoor High Jump

[vbobsessed]

Destinee wins it again.

Women's Track and defending NCAA champion Hooker wins high jump crown

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Texas women's track and field sophomore Destinee Hooker cleared six consecutive bars and repeated her winning performance from the 2006 NCAA National Championship meet, taking the 2007 NCAA High Jump Championship in clearing 6-3.5 (1.92m) at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif. on Friday, June 8.

Hooker's 10 points helped Texas, led by head coach Bev Kearney, finish the third day in a tie for sixth with Georgia at 17 points in the team standings. Arizona State is in first-place totaling 38 points over three days of action. USC (27 points), LSU (26), Texas Tech (23) and Michigan (22) round out the top five.

Hooker (San Antonio, Texas) cleared every height on the first attempt. She battled Alabama's Miruna Mataoanu for the title as both cleared 6-3.50 (1.92m). Both high jumpers missed all three attempts at 6-4.75 (1.95m) but Hooker held the advantage with zero misses against Mataoanu's two.

"(Miruna Matauano) from Alabama is a great competitor," said Hooker. "I just watched her, saying to myself, 'If she clears, then I have to clear. If I don't clear, she will win'."

Hooker is the first Longhorn to ever win the high jump in back-to-back seasons at the NCAA outdoor national meet. She joins Texas ex Erin Aldrich as the only two-time outdoor national champion in UT school history.

"[Winning the NCAA High Jump Championship is] great, it's a blessing, it truly is," continued Hooker. "I'm excited to be out here as a sophomore doing what I need to do to help Texas out, help Bev, and hopefully I can do the same thing now by supporting them from the stands."

She takes her fourth overall All-American honor, adding to the two from 2006, and the fourth-place finish from the 2007 NCAA Indoor Championship meet.

2007 NCAA Championships
Day Three Results (June 8)
NCAA Champions
Destinee Hooker (High Jump)

NCAA All-Americans (top eight finish)
Destinee Hooker (High jump – first place)

High jump final
1. Destinee Hooker (Texas), 6-3.5 (1.92m)*
2. Miruna Mataoanu (Alabama), 6-3.5 (1.92m)
*Hooker won the tiebreaker that came down to misses. She registered zero misses while Mataoanu had two.

edited by me...original article with picture can be found at this link:

www.texassports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=51&url_article_id=6845&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2#

[kolohekeiki]

I thought Destinee Hooker was a freshman this season? Or was she a redshirt freshman for the Texas volleyball team?

[BeiBei]

kolohekeiki said:

I thought Destinee Hooker was a freshman this season? Or was she a redshirt freshman for the Texas volleyball team?

She enrolled at UT in Jan 2006 and competed for the track team immediately. This is her second year representing the track team

[roofed!]

Maybe she should concentrate on high jump full time and try to make a run at qualifying for the Beijing 2008 Olympics (I'm sure a lot of volleyball coaches would say "Yes!").

But seriously, she should consider. I have just checked the USA Track & Field statistics page, and Hooker is the top high jumper in the nation with 6-4. The top competition comes from Erin Aldrich (6-3.5) and Amy Acuff (6-2.75).

[mervynpumpkinhead]

Makes me nostalgic for this:

dotyoureye.blogspot.com/2007/02/poor-kid-never-had-chance-in-sports.html

[roy]

roofed said:

Maybe she should concentrate on high jump full time and try to make a run at qualifying for the Beijing 2008 Olympics (I'm sure a lot of volleyball coaches would say "Yes!").

But seriously, she should consider. I have just checked the USA Track & Field statistics page, and Hooker is the top high jumper in the nation with 6-4. The top competition comes from Erin Aldrich (6-3.5) and Amy Acuff (6-2.75).

I was sort of thinking this as well. She is an amazing athlete, but part of me thinks that as an athlete, she would be better served to focus solely on track and field.

[vbobsessed]

roy said:

roofed said:

Maybe she should concentrate on high jump full time and try to make a run at qualifying for the Beijing 2008 Olympics (I'm sure a lot of volleyball coaches would say "Yes!").

But seriously, she should consider. I have just checked the USA Track & Field statistics page, and Hooker is the top high jumper in the nation with 6-4. The top competition comes from Erin Aldrich (6-3.5) and Amy Acuff (6-2.75).

I was sort of thinking this as well. She is an amazing athlete, but part of me thinks that as an athlete, she would be better served to focus solely on track and field.

You may recall that Erin Aldrich was a pretty amazing VB player as well.

Take a look at this online chat with Destinee Hooker:

Marcus Davis : You played on the Volleyball East All Star Team coming out of highschool with my daughter Candice. I've tracked your Volleyball sucess and would like to know which sport is your favorite and what are your athletic goals?
Destinee Hooker : Mr. Davis, I really don't have a favorite sport, but if I was forced to choose, I would go with the one that has a lot of energy, which would be volleyball. My athletic goals for volleyball would be to be an All-American, and in track, just to break the American record.

entire archived chat is in this link:
chat.texassports.com/index.php?c=9

[snickers]

This is interesting and all, but seriously, this site is about volleyball. Just change the headline to "Hooker Wins 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Outdoor Highjumps" and we can put this post to bed.

A more noteworthy post would be, "Hooker Plays Full Rotation, Becomes Primary Passer."

I am actually a big fan of hers, but we come here for volleyball.

How was her spring? Did she excel on the court? Or was she jumpin' for Track & Field?

[vbobsessed]

snickers said:

This is interesting and all, but seriously, this site is about volleyball. Just change the headline to "Hooker Wins 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 Outdoor Highjumps" and we can put this post to bed.

A more noteworthy post would be, "Hooker Plays Full Rotation, Becomes Primary Passer."

I am actually a big fan of hers, but we come here for volleyball.

How was her spring? Did she excel on the court? Or was she jumpin' for Track & Field?

Lighten up snick, it's June...

I usually don't read or respond to threads I'm not interested in.

Here is another link where Hooker talks about playing basketball for new Texas coach Gail Goestenkors in the near future:

www.texassports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=81&url_article_id=6360&url_subchannel_id=&change_well_id=2

And as long as it concerns one of the most exciting VB players in the game today, I'll continue to post it....in June

[tsunami]

vbobsessed, I love all the threads you post about Destinee Hooker, she's an amazing athlete, and a beautiful, bright young lady!!!

[jgrout]

vbobsessed said:

...NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif.

Only, or first of two, trips to Sacramento?

[mauricciobal]

Who cares....This is called volleytalk, and last time I checked she couldn't even hit pass a decent block.

[Ye Olde Dawg]

mauricciobal said:

Who cares....This is called volleytalk, and last time I checked she couldn't even hit pass a decent block.

Okay, will someone kindly post the picture of Hooker hitting over the block of Sarah Pavan again, please?

To me, this is relevant to volleyball: it's about what a volleyball player is doing. It gives us a fresh way to look at Hooker as an athlete. The comment about her other skills is relevant, but her jumping ability is what makes her a unique player, and it's essentially her jumping we're talking about here.

The thing that sticks in my mind is sort of a mental thing. You could draw a line on the volleyball net 192cm above the ground. Hooker can jump so that her whole body clears a bar at that height, but most of the players who'll have to block her could walk under that same bar without bending over.

[vbuzz]

mauricciobal said:

Who cares....This is called volleytalk, and last time I checked she couldn't even hit pass a decent block.

And what block was that? You should get your facts straight before opening your mouth.

She hit over Nebraska's block last season, over the AVCA National Player of the Year straight down to the ground. Nebraska was one of the best blocking teams last year in the league, if not the best blocking team in the country. So, who's block were you refering to?

[tsunami]

He was refering to King Kong, because only he can slow Hooker down....atleast get some touches on the block!!!!