SACRAMENTO, CALIF. ? An injury to sprint star Marshavet Hooker has only slightly diminished the Texas women’s status as a heavy favorite to defend their NCAA track and field title this week.

The men’s team race is much less clear, with Florida State and UTEP on paper, at least, the top contenders.

But as Southern California coach Ron Allice said at a pre-meet news conference Tuesday, “Anyone who’s been through this meet knows that anything can happen and will happen.”

The four-day competition begins today at Sacramento State, site of the 2000 and 2004 Olympic trials.

A hamstring injury will keep Hooker from attempting to win a second consecutive 100-meter title. Instead, she will be limited to the long jump and perhaps the 400-meter relay. But coach Bev Kearney’s Longhorns are steeped with talent, including Hooker’s freshman sister, Destinee, a favorite in the high jump.

“Personally, I don’t think of us as a heavy favorite,” Kearney said. “You have to respect the caliber of the competition and you have to respect the magnitude of the NCAA national championship. We’re just trying to maximize our earning potential, so to speak, just focusing on that.”

The three-year NCAA reign of the Arkansas men probably will come to an end, with Texas and LSU expected to challenge Florida State and UTEP in the team race. That leaves the Razorbacks an extreme longshot.

“It’s all about opportunities,” said UTEP coach Bob Kitchens, whose team is almost entirely made up of foreign athletes. “What we have here is an opportunity to do something. The team that has the best meet is going to win. It’s very simple.”

The NCAA has produced some great track stars who turned pro before using up their college eligibility – Olympic and world 400 champion Jeremy Wariner, world 100 champion Lauryn Williams, and world 400 runner-up Sanya Richards. All would still be eligible.

But that doesn’t mean there’s a shortage of talent at the NCAA level.

One of those who stayed in school is USC senior Virginia Powell, the defending NCAA 100-meter hurdle champion who hasn’t lost a race indoors or outdoors this year. She shares the collegiate record in the event with Gail Devers at 12.61 seconds.

One of the early stars this week should be Trey Hardee of Texas, who begins defense of his NCAA decathlon title Wednesday. Hardee set a collegiate record with 8,465 points at the Texas Relays on April 5-6.