Women's track goes two for two
It seems the women's track and field team has found a home away from home.
The team took first in an eight-team field at the Cougar Indoor Invitational on Sunday. The victory is the second of the season for the Owls at the University of Houston's new Athletics/Alumni Center. The Owls have won both collegiate meets held there since the building opened earlier this year.
Overall, the team racked up 122.5 points. The University of Texas took second with 91.50 followed by Texas A&M University (79), the University of Mississippi (30) and Tulane University (28).
"Overall it was a great team effort where you didn't have just one or two individuals that did all the work," Head Coach Victor Lopez said. "Everybody performed very well."
In a performance similar to that of its first meet of the season, the team was strong in all areas of the meet. However, the bulk of the Owls' scoring came in the distance events.
In the 800 meters, four members of the team finished in the top six spots. Senior Holly Welch led the team with a time of 2:17.42, claiming second place. Sophomore Alexis Smith and freshman Shaquandra Roberson finished less than a second behind Welch in fourth and fifth place respectively. Freshman Kari Vigerstol took sixth with a time of 2:19.32.
The team got an equally strong performance from its 3,000-meter runners. Senior Katy Eklof won her second 3,000 race of the season, finishing with a time of 10:16.30.
Junior Alex Gajewski followed in second, just under five seconds behind. Sophomore Sheila Madigan rounded out the Owl finishers, taking fifth with a mark of 10:31.93.
Perhaps the most impressive performance was the mile run where senior Stacey Swank, freshman Shaquandra Roberson and Smith swept first, second and third place respectively.
Running as a group was a strategy that the team went into the race with.
"We told our runners to run from the back and to move together when the moment arrives," Lopez said. "We work on strategy, and these tactics are very important to get the right result in the race."
In the distance-medley relay, the team literally ran away from the competition. Vigerstol, Welch, Gajewski and Smith finished over 24 seconds ahead of Tulane.
Two new school records were set this weekend. Junior TaNisha Mills set a new Rice record in the 60. Her time of 7.44 is a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Mills took third in the race, finishing just .05 seconds out of first.
Junior Andrea Blackett set a new school record in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.65.
Both Mills and Blackett joined senior Vonda Newhouse and junior Melissa Straker to claim victory in the 4x400 relay.
Straker ran the anchor leg and overtook the last Texas runner in the final 50 meters of the race to win the event.
Lopez thinks the best is still to come for the 4x400 team.
"We feel we have one of the best teams in the nation," Lopez said. "We still are far away from being at our best because we are still training heavy. Texas has had five meets where we have only had two."
Straker and Blackett placed third and fourth, respectively, in the 400.
Dionne Wright finished sixth in the 60 meters with a time of 7.60. Newhouse took seventh in the 200 meters with a 25.19.
In the triple jump, junior Cherita Howard and junior Rosita Hogan placed second and third with marks of 12.05 and 11.87 meters respectively. Howard also took fourth in the long jump with a leap of 5.85.
Junior Trisha Harris claimed third in the shot put with a throw of 13.03 meters.
According to Mills, there are two advantages to competing across town at Houston.
"It gives us the opportunity to compete in front of family and friends," she said. "It is also a fast track for the 60 and even for the 400 and lets us get times to qualify for nationals."
The team has just one more meet before the Southwest Conference Indoor Championships. They travel to Champaign, Ill., where they will face teams such as the University of Illinois, the University of Arkansas, the University of Michigan, and the University of Miami.
Smith is looking forward to the stiff competition. "It is going to be a mini-nationals. Everyone is going to be trying to qualify for nationals," she said.
Lopez is confident in the team's abilities. "Just the fact that we beat Texas and Louisiana State two weeks ago makes our team one of the best dual meet teams in the nation," he said.
"We have great balance, depth and good quality. That is the key to success in meets like the two previous ones."
This item appeared in the Sports section of the February 9, 1996 issue.
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