Track members place well at College Station

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by Ben Glassman

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Only a handful of Owls participated in the College Station Relays last Saturday.

Despite the small showing, the meet did produce several notable results.

The team's hurdlers represented themselves well. Junior Derras Wilmington took second in his 110-meter high hurdle heat before finishing seventh overall with a time of 14.54.

Junior Quinton Milner, participating in his first outdoor meet this season, provisionally qualified for the NCAAs, winning the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in a time of 51.02.

Senior Luis Armenteros ran a personal record of 1:53.25 to capture second place in an 800-meter preliminary section.

Armenteros, one of the team's 3,000-meter specialists, commented on running the half mile.

"Realistically speaking, I can't expect myself to compete at the level that several of my teammates have recently competed at in this event.

"However, the fact that I can jump on the track and run a respectable time this early in the season definitely suggests further improvement is in the future," he said.

Next up for the Owls will be the Texas Southern University Relays, which take place today and tomorrow.

Most of the competition will take place in Robertson Stadium at the University of Houston. The Rice Track Stadium will host the college javelin competition.

The TSU Relays are the first of a series of major outdoor meets for Rice, including the University of Texas Relays and the University of Pennsylvania Relays, leading up to the culmination of the outdoor season, the Southwest Conference and NCAA Championships.

This year, however, many eyes will look toward the USA Olympic Trials in June. As such, TSU will serve as an early proving ground for NCAA qualifications.

"I wouldn't say it's a major meet for us, but it is a big meet, and there should be a lot of good competition there," Milner said.

"My goal will be to get an automatic qualifying time."

Armenteros looks at the meet as an opportunity to gauge the team's progress.

"The TSU Relays annually provide us with an opportunity to assess where we stand early in the season," he said.

The meet will also mark the return of distance-runner Jeff Lewis, who has been out of commission due to injury.

"I have been cross-training extensively, so I hope not to have lost much time," Lewis said.

This item appeared in the Sports section of the March 22, 1996 issue.

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