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March 4, 2005 > Sports > Women’s track falls short of WAC indoor title

Women’s track falls short of WAC indoor title

By Josh Cooley | Thresher staff

The women’s track and field team failed to reach its goal of winning an indoor title, finishing in second place at the Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championships last weekend in Boise, Idaho. Though they improved on their third-place finish from last year, the Owls failed to send head coach Victor Lopez into retirement with a fourth indoor championship.

“The competition was pretty tough, but I thought everyone did a really good job and pulled through,” freshman Marissa Daniels said.

After the third day, Rice sat fourth with only 26 points, trailing Southern Methodist University, Louisiana Tech University and Fresno State University. The Owls rebounded to capture second place, scoring 58 points on the final day of competition.

“After day one, some people were kind of disappointed with how they did,” Daniels said. “We had a team meeting and tried to focus more and get pumped up. Everyone seemed to do better the next day — everyone seemed more intense.”

Louisiana Tech won the meet with 157 points, and Rice edged Fresno State by 8 points for second place, scoring 84.

Distance runners accounted for 33 of the Owls’ points. Sophomore Kate Gorry and Daniels finished third and fourth in the 5,000-meter run, and Daniels also scored points in the 3,000, taking third place. Freshman Callie Wells took seventh in the 3,000 and fifth in the mile. Junior Megan Sandler ran a season-best two minutes, 11.23 seconds in the 800, capturing fifth, and junior Anna Reeve, junior Danielle Prime, sophomore Brandi Armstrong and freshman Laura Kelley finished third in the distance medley relay.

Junior Funmi Jimoh was the Owls’ top point-scorer, placing in three events and earning 19 points. She took third in the hurdles, tied for second in the high jump and finished second in the long jump. Her personal-best leap of 20-3 in the long jump provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championships.

“I was excited,” Jimoh said. “I think I surprised myself a little bit. I definitely think I have a whole lot left in me.”

In the sprints, senior Yvonne Umeh, junior Nina Mayes and freshman Desarie Walwyn finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 60-meter dash, while Umeh and Mayes took fifth and seventh, respectively, in the 200. Prime, Sandler, Umeh and freshman Chandra Ewing took third in the 4x400-meter relay with a season-best time of 3:46.12.

Junior Krystal Robinson’s weight throw of 51-7.25 was good enough for eighth place and broke her own school weight throw record. Sophomore Shardee Caesar triple-jumped a personal-best 39-2.25, taking seventh, and freshman Rachel Greff finished seventh in the pole vault.

Jimoh must add nine inches to her personal best mark to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, and she will have a chance to do so this weekend at the Tom Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame. Gorry will attempt to qualify in the 5,000, while Mayes and Umeh will look to advance to the NCAA meet in the 60 and the 200, respectively.

The Owls will open their outdoor season March 18 at the Texas Southern University Relays.

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