The UTEP women’s track and field teams will be going for its first-ever conference title this weekend at Conference USA Outdoor Championships in Houston, Texas.

The Miners are coming of consecutive runner-up finishes at the last indoor and outdoor C-USA Championships and will have to overtake Rice on its home track.

UTEP returns four conference champions in Olatunde Okusanya, Fatimoh Muhammed, Erma Gene Evans and Nina Schvedoff, and has the conference’s top marks in four other events entering the championships.

Okusanya won the 400-meter dash last year and has the second-fastest time in conference this year (53.87).

Muhammed enters the meet with the top times in the 800-meter run (2:09.36) and 1,500-meter run (4:22.31). She is the defending champion in the 800 and will also run as part of the 1,600-meter relay, which has run the second-best time this season.

She will be joined by Kelly Young in both the 800 and 1,500. Young ranks in the top five in both races this season.

Evans won the javelin last year with a throw of 180-5 (55.00) and enters the weekend as the favorite.

Schvedoff took the gold in the hammer last year and ranks second during the 2006 season. Schvedoff and Alina Joaca-Bine -- who ranks third -- will challenge current leader Chelsea Salisbury of East Carolina for the gold medal.

The Miners will also rely on Oludamola Osayomi, Keisha Walkes and Nelly Tchayem for their title push.

Osaymoi has the top time of 11.25 in the 100-meter dash and the fourth best in the 200-meter dash (23.57). She has teamed up with the 400-meter relay to additionally run the fastest time in the conference this season.

Walkes is the current leader in the discus and has the third-best mark in the shot put this season.

Tchayem -- a All-American indoors -- has the lead mark in the triple jump and could be a factor in the long jump as well.

The men’s team is the defending champion, but will be competing this weekend without Mickael Hanany, who is redshirting. Hanany has scored 30 points at all five of his conference championships since coming to UTEP.

UTEP will not go down without a fight though.

The Miners expect to rack up big points in the distance events. UTEP will run Stephen Samoei, Japheth Ng'ojoy, Patrick Mutai and Nicodemus Ng'etich in the 5,000-meter run. Samoei Mutai and Ng’etich are among the favorites in the 1,500-meter run. Mutai looks to defend his title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and will run with Ng’etich. And Ng’ojoy expects to repeat his title in the 10,000-meter run.

Senior Daniel Ward holds the fastest time in the 200 (21.10) and could be among the best in the 400, despite not running a race this season. Miner junior Elias Koech -- last year’s 800 champ -- has run a 400 in 46.25, which ranks second best in the league this year.

In the 800, Dominic Kiprono Tanui’s time of 1:47.79 is the best among the competitors entered in the field. He was second last year.

UTEP’s 400 and 1,600 relays could also bring back the gold. The Miners have the second-best time of 40.55 in the 400 relay and have run 3:07.32, which is fastest in the 1,600 relay.

Javelin thrower Alex van der Merwe seeks to defend his title and enters the competition with the best throw this year.

Freshman Hans Eriksson could also be a factor in the hammer. He ranks third in C-USA in 2006.

The C-USA Championships begin Thursday and run through Saturday.