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April 15, 2005 > Sports > Women’s track edges UT at Bayou Classic

Women’s track edges UT at Bayou Classic

By Josh Cooley | Thresher staff

The women’s track and field performed well in its first home meet against a national field, beating perennial power University of Texas by 0.5 points at the Rice Bayou Classic April 1-2 at Rice Track/Soccer Stadium. Rice trailed Texas entering the hammer throw, the meet’s final event, but junior Krystal Robinson clinched the team title for the Owls by finishing seventh. Robinson’s two points gave the Owls a 121-120.5 victory over the Longhorns.

Then, last weekend, the Owls faced stiff competition against teams like the University of Arkansas and Stanford University — both of which finished in the top 10 at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships — at the 78th Annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Tex. The Owls will split up this weekend, competing in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, Calif., and the Dogwood Invitational in Nacogdoches, Texas. Among the teams competing at the Dogwood Invitational are the University of Louisiana-Monroe, Northwestern State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, the University of Texas-Pan American and UT-Tyler.

At the Texas Relays, the Rice 4x100 squad of junior Funmi Jimoh, freshman Desarié Walwyn, senior Yvonne Umeh and junior Nina Mayes qualified for regionals, capturing fourth in a season-best 45.08. The squad ran in the invitational race, finishing first among collegiate teams.

‘That’s the first time we’ve put [them] together,’ assistant coach Jim Bevan said. ‘Our sprint relay could end up being one of the best relays in the country. It could end up being the best relay in the history of Rice.’

Umeh said she also has high expectations for the relay team.

‘We have a good shot at finishing in the top five if we go to nationals,’ Umeh said. ‘I have faith in everything that we do as a team.’

In the distance events, Daniels took fourth in the 5000 in 17:02. Barrows finished third among collegians and fourth overall in her 10,000-meter debut, finishing in 37:51. The distance-medley relay team of freshman Callie Wells, senior Keia Watkins, junior Megan Sandler and freshman Marissa Daniels finished 10th in 11:50.

In the 100 meters, Nina Mayes posted a season-best time of 11.68 in the preliminary heats and then took eighth in the finals with a wind-aided time of 11.44.

‘I felt that I did the best I could given the circumstances,’ Mayes said. ‘The starter for the race shot the gun really quickly, and I wasn’t prepared to run.’

Robinson took fourth in the discus with a throw of 171-6, 11 inches better than her winning throw the week before and 5-5 off her March 26 school-record throw.

After matching her personal-best pole vault of 11-11.75 in her first three outdoor meets of the season, freshman Rachel Greff cleared 12-5.50 in Austin, earning second in the B flight and qualifying for regionals.

At the Bayou Classic, Umeh scored points in four events for the Owls, winning both the 100 and 200 meters. She ran a season-best 11.88 seconds in the 100 and matched her regional-qualifying 400-meter time of 23.85 from March 26.

In the 4x100-meter relay, Umeh teamed with Walwyn, Jimoh and freshman Chandra Ewing to finish third, just one-hundredth of a second behind second-place University of Houston. Umeh also ran the anchor leg in the 4x400 meter relay, teaming with junior Danille Prime, Sandler and Ewing to edge Texas State University in a season-best 3:45.88 and take second in the event. For her efforts, Umeh earned Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week honors.

‘[The Bayou Classic] was one of my first outdoor meets [this year],’ Umeh said. ‘I didn’t expect to be successful so early in the season.’

In the distance events, Sandler captured the 1500-meter title in a season-best 4:33.14, taking the lead during the second lap and never being challenged afterward. Sandler returned the next day to place second in the 800 meters in 2:10.39, and junior Sarah Yoder took second in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

After running the first few laps of the race behind junior teammate Kate Gorry, Daniels took the lead in the 5000 meters and eventually won the race in 16:54. Daniels finished more than 30 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Lindsey Yourman of Harvard University and was less than three seconds away from qualifying for regionals. Freshman Susie Barrows took third in the event, running a personal-best 17:36.

‘I was trying to close the gap on Harvard, but I didn’t think I [would] catch her,’ Barrows said.

In the sprints, Jimoh was victorious in the 100-meter hurdles and finished seventh in the 200-meter dash.

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