Roberson, Wright lead women's track in Austin
The annual Texas Relays is usually one of the women's track team's toughest meets of the year.
Schools from all around the country make the trip to Austin to compete.
However, this year there was an extra competitor: Mother Nature. The weather was cold for all four days of the meet.
On Friday, the winds gusted to 35 miles per hour and temperatures dipped down into the 40s.
As a result, 30 events were postponed until Saturday.
Despite the cold conditions, several individuals and relay teams posted their best times of the year.
Freshman Shaquandra Roberson set a personal record in the 1,500 meters.
Her time of 4:30.54 was second overall, but was first among the collegiate competitors.
Sophomore Alexis Smith ran the ninth fastest time in the meet, posting a 4:40.43.
Senior Stacy Swank ran in a different field, finishing third with a 4:39.30.
Senior Katy Eklof finished eighth in a large field of 5,000 meter runners. Her time of 17:08.80 was the fastest on the team this year.
Senior Dionne Wright ran her best time of the year in the 100 meters. Her preliminary heat run of 11.77 was just 0.03 seconds shy of qualifying for the finals. She finished 11th in the event.
The 4x400 team of junior Andrea Blackett, junior Melissa Straker, senior Vonda Newhouse and junior TaNisha Mills finished second behind host University of Texas at Austin. Their time of 3:37.48 earned a provisional qualification for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The team also got a strong performance from its 4x800 meter squad.
The team of senior Holly Welch, Smith, freshman Kari Vigerstol and Roberson finished second to Vanderbilt University by just over one second (9:04.27 for Rice 9:03.14 for VU).
"It was hard to warm up and stay warm," Wright said. "It was also risky to run. You risk an injury running in cold weather. It was definitely an adventure."
Swank said that the weather is more of a mental problem than a physical one.
"We did really well because we had the mental component," she said. "You just have to talk yourself out of it."
Two weeks ago the team hosted the annual Oshman's/Rice Bayou Classic. The meet is the largest female-only meet in the country.
In team competition the Owls finished fourth behind Texas, Texas A&M University and the University of Arkansas.
Roberson won the 800 meters with a season-best 2:10.18. Wright finished third in the 100 meters with a 11.98.
Swank finished third overall in the 1500-meter race, running a 4:37.72.
Blackett took third in both the 100 and 400 hurdles.
Mills' 24.17 200 meter sprint earned third.
The 4x400 squad again finished second to Texas.
Junior Cherita Howard placed fourth in the long jump, leaping 19-6 1/4.
Senior Trisha Harris' shot put of 43-7 3/4 earned third.
There was also an exhibition men's 200 meter race run at the meet.
Olympic hopeful and former Rice standout Bryan Bronson won the race with a 20.53.
Swank said that hosting a meet can have both positive and negative effects on the team.
"It is good to have people there to watch you, but it is hard to get motivated," she said.
"You have the home advantage, but then again you practice there. Getting psyched up is a little different."
Next on the agenda for the team is a trip to College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational and a trip to California for the Mt. SAC Invitational.
According to Wright, the Mt. SAC meet will be a good chance for the team to improve upon or earn NCAA qualifications.
"The Mt. SAC is the meet where everyone runs really fast times. There should be lots of qualifications there," she said.
This item appeared in the Sports section of the April 12, 1996 issue.
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