Sports notebook
Kearney’s vaults lead men’s track at Husky Invitational
Led by the aerial artistry of Shea Kearney, the men’s track and field team turned out its best performance of the indoor season at last weekend’s Husky Classic in Seattle, Wa. Kearney, a freshman, cleared an NCAA provisional mark of 17 feet, one inch in the pole vault to claim the virst victory of his collegiate career.
The Owls return to Houston this week to prepare for the Conference USA Indoor Championships. The conference meet runs Feb. 29-March 1, with prelims for the running events on Friday at 5 p.m. and finals beginning on Sunday at 1 p.m. The field events begin at 1 p.m. Friday and again at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Rice placed third overall in last year’s C-USA Championships, paced by then-senior Pablo Solares’ win in the mile.
Aside from Kearney, other Owls did well in the jumping events at Seattle. Senior Devon Fanfair placed fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 49-6.5, and freshman Ugo Nduaguba finished made his collegiate track and field debut with a mark of 6-7 in the high jump, good for sixth place.
The senior sprinting trio of Gary Anderson, Bubba Heard and Jon Turner also had a good outing at the Seattle meet. In the 200-meter dash, Heard placed 11th with a time of 21.74 seconds and Anderson placed 16th with a time of 22.03 — an improvement of .35 seconds on his personal-best. He also finished 20th in the 60 hurdles. Turner finished in 17th place in the 60 with a time of 6.95 and 25th in the 200 with a time of 22.38.
— Brody Rollins
Women’s track posts several personal
records in Arkansas#
When pitted against the elite in any sport, a team can either rise to the occasion or fall flat on its face. Luckily for the women’s track and field team, its performance at last weekend’s Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., was along the lines of the former. Facing a number of top 20 schools in one of the most competitive indoor track meets in the country, the Owls posted no fewer than ten personal-best and thirteen season-best times.
Senior Lennie Waite had another dominant performance last weekend, winning the collegiate division of the mile with an NCAA-provisional qualifying time of 4 minutes, 47.64 seconds and taking her heat of the 800 meters with a personal best time of 2:10.93. Waite also led the distance medley relay to a provisional qualifying time of 11:28.30 and a second-place finish alongside senior Callie Wells and sophomores Vicki Walker and Nicole Mericle. Wells also came in a close second to Waite in the mile, with a time of 4:48.03.
In the 5,000, freshman Becky Wade took first with a time of 16:52.84 and was closely followed by classmate Allison Pye, who finished third with a time of 17:01.09. In only her second meet after returning from injury, senior Marissa Daniels took second in the 3,000 with a time of 9:58.39.
The Rice vaulters traveled with the men’s team to the Husky Invitational in Seattle, where senior Rachel Greff improved her national ranking with a vault of 13 feet, 1.75 inches, placing herself in the top 20 in the country.
The Owls were also tops in the 4x400 relay, when seniors Desarie Walwyn and Chandra Ewing joined sophomores Sarah Lyons and Brittany Washington to win their heat with a time of 3:41.60, the fastest time recorded by Rice in four years.
Rice’s good showing at Tyson Invitational means that the team will head into its next meet, the Conference USA Indoor Championships, with beneficial momentum. The Owls took the title last year by overcoming an 8.5-point deficit on the final day to beat the University of Texas-El Paso. This year’s meet will take place at the Yeoman Fieldhouse on the University of Houston campus Feb. 28-March 1.
— Natalie Clericuzio
Golf places eighth at lone home event of spring season
A week after opening the spring season with a sixth-place finish at the Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational in St. George, Utah, the golf team returned home Sunday to host the Rice Intercollegiate at the Westwood Golf Club.
Rice was sitting nicely in fourth place in round two of the tournament, but darkness arrived to halt both the day’s play and the Owls’ momentum, and they wound up dropping four spots to finish the competition in eighth place. Baylor University won the 12-team tournament with a total score of 878 over three rounds, 20 strokes ahead of Rice.
In individual results, sophomore Michael Buttacavoli finished with a five-over 221 to tie for 12th place. Freshman Michael Whitehead was next with a 225, finishing tied for 27th place, and sophomore Christopher Brown tied for 32nd with a 228. Junior Kyle Kelley and senior Addison Awe rounded out the Owls’ scoring.
Rice competes again next week at the Cuthbert Cup tournament, held Feb. 24-26 at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in Kiawah Island, S.C. Their opponents hail mostly from the east coast, and include the College of Charleston, the College of William and Mary and Western Carolina.
— Dylan Farmer
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- Class of 2007 one of best in Rice's history
- Five years removed from national title, Owls hope this is the year for repeat success
- Loss to UTEP stops women's two-game win streak
- National foes join Rice on quest for Omaha
- Owls fall to No. 26 Texas but rebound against Northwestern State
- Riding a seven-match streak, men's tennis welcomes No. 5 Texas Sunday
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