Women fall short of C-USA four-peat
Natalie Clericuzio
Issue date: 3/12/10 Section: Sports
Two weeks ago, the women's track team stood on the threshold of history, one event away from winning four consecutive Conference USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, a feat unmatched in women's C-USA history.
Headed into the final event of the meet, the 4x400 relay, Rice stood half a point ahead of its nearest competitor, the University of Texas - El Paso. UTEP's relay team finished the event in 3:46.83 in a heat preceding the Owls' run. Rice needed to beat that time to win the meet, but the Owls posted only a 3:49.38 finish. With that, UTEP surged ahead to defeat Rice in point total, 113.5 to 110.
The slim margin of victory was no surprise to Head Coach Jim Bevan. He had just hoped it would belong to his Owls instead.
"On paper, our score was 99, but we scored 110," Bevan said. "UTEP on paper had 98 points and they scored 113.5.
... We did compete well, event by event, but we just missed out by a little. Three and a half points in a 17-event meet is ... less than a quarter of a point per event."
Though the team did not capture another overall championship at the University of Houston's Yeoman Fieldhouse, three Owls took gold medals and several others earned career-best marks. Junior Becky Wade won the mile run, junior Ari Ince took the pole vault title and sophomore Keltie John earned top honors in the 800-meter run.
Wade's performance was particularly impressive considering the array of events in which she competed over the weekend.
"Becky was asked to run the 5,000, mile and 3K, which is a lot of running," Bevan said. "She beat the No. 1 seed in the mile in a very, very exciting race after the girl she had beat had won the 5K the day before and Becky was fifth. "
Ince's top finish was complemented by the performance of sophomore Cleona Oliver. Seeded sixth entering the pole vault, Oliver pulled out a second-place finish behind Ince.
Senior Shannon Moran performed outside of her comfort zone as well, spending a long day in competition. She began the heptathlon at 9 a.m. and continued competing until her main event, the long jump, at 4:30 that afternoon. Though seeded only twelfth overall, she pulled out an indoor best mark at 18 feet 11.75 inches, good enough for seventh place and two points.
Headed into the final event of the meet, the 4x400 relay, Rice stood half a point ahead of its nearest competitor, the University of Texas - El Paso. UTEP's relay team finished the event in 3:46.83 in a heat preceding the Owls' run. Rice needed to beat that time to win the meet, but the Owls posted only a 3:49.38 finish. With that, UTEP surged ahead to defeat Rice in point total, 113.5 to 110.
The slim margin of victory was no surprise to Head Coach Jim Bevan. He had just hoped it would belong to his Owls instead.
"On paper, our score was 99, but we scored 110," Bevan said. "UTEP on paper had 98 points and they scored 113.5.
... We did compete well, event by event, but we just missed out by a little. Three and a half points in a 17-event meet is ... less than a quarter of a point per event."
Though the team did not capture another overall championship at the University of Houston's Yeoman Fieldhouse, three Owls took gold medals and several others earned career-best marks. Junior Becky Wade won the mile run, junior Ari Ince took the pole vault title and sophomore Keltie John earned top honors in the 800-meter run.
Wade's performance was particularly impressive considering the array of events in which she competed over the weekend.
"Becky was asked to run the 5,000, mile and 3K, which is a lot of running," Bevan said. "She beat the No. 1 seed in the mile in a very, very exciting race after the girl she had beat had won the 5K the day before and Becky was fifth. "
Ince's top finish was complemented by the performance of sophomore Cleona Oliver. Seeded sixth entering the pole vault, Oliver pulled out a second-place finish behind Ince.
Senior Shannon Moran performed outside of her comfort zone as well, spending a long day in competition. She began the heptathlon at 9 a.m. and continued competing until her main event, the long jump, at 4:30 that afternoon. Though seeded only twelfth overall, she pulled out an indoor best mark at 18 feet 11.75 inches, good enough for seventh place and two points.
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