Woman’s track hosts Bayou Classic today
After a three week hiatus, the women’s track team was back in action at the Texas Southern Relays March 24-25 at Durley Field. The transition from outdoor to indoor track benefited the Owls, who performed well in several outdoor-only events.
The Owls are looking to carry over the momentum from the TSU relays to a smaller, local stage. Rice will host the 24th annual Victor Lopez Bayou Classic today and tomorrow at the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium.
“Because we’re at home, we’re comfortable here,” senior Krystal Robinson said. “It’s going to be a good meet to get started for the rest of the season and for the bigger meets coming up, like conference, regionals and hopefully nationals.”
The Bayou Classic will feature more than 10 teams, including several unusual opponents such as Augustana College and Eastern Illinois. Head coach Jim Bevan said the performances at last week’s meet helped the Owls progress toward their goals for the season.
“We’ve picked up where we left off in indoors,” he said. “For us, it’s the right meet for this time of year in that everybody [who] will run will have a chance to be competitive.”
The collegiate action will kick off tonight with the distance carnival, which features the 1500 meters, the 5000 meters and the steeplechase, an event not run at the TSU meet. Senior Sarah Yoder qualified for regionals in the steeplechase last year.
At TSU, Robinson qualified for regionals in the shot put with a throw — 171 feet, 7 inches — that was more than 25 feet longer than the second-place finisher, sophomore Ulrika Hinson. Robinson set the Rice record in the discus last year but will only compete in shot put this year.
Hinson placed second in both the discus and the javelin with throws of 146 feet and a personal-best 137 feet, 6 inches, respectively. Hinson, who had not competed in the javelin or discus this year because they are not offered as indoor events, said the opportunity to compete in non-indoor meets was satisfying.
“Shot put is my weakest event,” she said. “And I definitely enjoy javelin and discus the most. I was more excited to compete in those events than the indoor season events.”
Sophomore Chandra Ewing similarly capitalized on the fresh slate of outdoor events, finishing only 1.42 seconds off the lead in the 400-meter hurdles with a third place time of 63.0 seconds. Sophomore Desarie Walwyn sprinted to a 24.54 second place finish in the 200-meters.
Rice took four out of the top five spots in the 1500-meter event, led by sophomore Lennie Waite’s second place 4:40.25 time. Additionally, the distance medley team of sophomore Lea Garcia, freshman LaToya Adekoya, junior Brandie Armstrong, and junior Jessica Cox placed second with a time of 12:09.33.
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