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August 19, 2005 > Sports > Men’s track sends five to regionals

Men’s track sends five to regionals

Online exclusive

By Stephen Whitfield | Thresher Editorial Staff

The men’s track and field team sent five athletes to the NCAA Midwest Regional Outdoor Championships May 27-28 in Norman, Okla, although no one advanced to the NCAA Championships.

After missing the entire indoor season and almost all the outdoor season with an ankle injury, freshman Omar Wright posted a regional-qualifying mark in the high jump at the Western Athletic Conference Championships, his second-ever college meet. At the regional meet, he cleared a personal-best 6 feet, 11 inches and tied for 11th. Had Wright managed to clear the next height - 7 feet, 1 inch - he would have qualified for a jump-off for the final spot in the NCAA title meet.

Head coach Jon Warren (Jones ‘88) said Wright’s ability to perform well in tough situations defined his season.

“If you take the ten months that [Wright] was here from the beginning of school to the end of May, nine-and-a-half of those months weren’t very exciting. That’s the mark of a champion … You’re a great athlete if you do it on the days of the championships. [Wright] had a great season because he had two good meets. That’s it. He pulled it together when it mattered.”

Junior Marcel Hewamudalige placed 11th in the 5,000 meters, finishing in 14 minutes, 27.09 seconds. Like Wright, he qualified for the event at the WAC Championships, where he posted top-five finishes in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters on the same day. Hewamudalige’s 5,000 time then was almost 20 seconds faster than his time at regionals.

“[Hewamudalige’s racing] the 10k and 5k on the same day [at the WAC Championships] was probably the final straw for the stress fracture in his foot,” Warren said, “and you could see it in the race. He was fine [in the beginning] and then all of a sudden he was running on his heels. He just changed. I knew that was aggrevated going in, but you could tell it happened in the race. I think otherwise he would’ve been in the top five [and qualified for the NCAAs].”

Junior Luke Stadel, coming off a strong outdoor season in which he won the WAC shot put title, competed in two events at the regional meet. His throw of 57-3.75 was less than a foot short of his personal-best of 58-2, set at the WAC championship meet, but his 10th-place finish in the event was not good enough to earn him a spot in the NCAA title meet. Stadel also failed to qualify in the discus, throwing 167-11 and finishing 13th.

“Luke had a pretty good shot,” Warren said. “He just didn’t have it that day. It was a bit disappointing… especially considering [Stadel’s outdoor season], but that’s… okay. He had a phenomenal year. He got the third- and fourth-best marks ever thrown in Rice history [in the shot put and discus, respectively]. He’ll be here for a couple of more years, and I think he’ll get his shot.”

Two other Rice athletes, senior Jason Powell and junior David Axel, participated at the regional meet. Powell, the 2004 regional champion in the triple jump, finished 14th in the event this year, jumping 47-3.5, while Axel ran the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:16.28 to finish 13th.

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