Wilmington, Lewis high-light chilly Texas Relays
Rice men's track team has spent the past two weeks struggling through injuries while trying to get in gear for the outdoor season.
On March 30, they competed at Rice Track Stadium in the Meeting of the Minds, a triangular with Harvard University and the University of Houston.
The following weekend the team traveled to Austin for the 69th annual Texas Relays.
In Houston, the low-key meet was punctuated by Houston alumnus Carl Lewis, who won the 100 meter dash in 10.37, breaking Kareem Streete-Thompson's meet record.
Rice did not compete in any sprints, but its distance runners posted the most impressive results.
Miler Jeff Lewis, returning from a stress fracture, won the 1,500 meters by nearly 10 seconds over his closest competitor.
In the opinion of teammate Luis Armenteros, it was his most encouraging performance since the injury.
Lewis' closest competition did in fact come from his teammates, as Derrick Small and Andrew Burrow, usually half-milers, finished second and third, respectively, in the longer event.
Armenteros himself captured Rice's other individual first place by winning the 3,000 meters in 8:42.39. "It was basically a training run for me," he said.
The Owls entered two teams in the 4x400 meter relay, and both finished ahead of a third team from Harvard.
Several other athletes scored for Rice.
Kodili Odimgbe took second in the shot put with a 54-11.5 effort, and Derras Wilmington placed second in the long jump by managing 22-11.75.
"I've been plagued by injuries to my hip and back so far," Wilmington said in assessment, "so my running has been slowed, but my jumping is coming along real well."
Wilmington ran the 110 meter high hurdles, in which he placed second with a time of 15.30.
High jumper Chad Kopp cleared 6-8.75 for third place, and Dan Brooks and Quinton Milner finished third and fourth in the 800 meters.
"It was an enjoyable meet," Armenteros said. "When Harvard comes down, we always have fun with those guys."
The Texas Relays began the following Wednesday, and in case the depth of competition and nagging injuries were not enough, the Owls were forced to contend with brutal weather conditions.
Cold rain marked several days as the wind chill dipped temperatures in Austin into the 20s.
After having run through the freezing mist, one runner testified that his hands were too numb to tie her shoelaces.
Teammates and coaches agreed that freshman Derrick Small was one of the top performers.
"Derrick showed signs that he will be ready to run a 1:48 800," Assistant Coach Jon Warren said.
Small ran the third leg of Rice's 4x800 meter relay team.
Jaime Price, Andrew Burrow and Luis Armenteros rounded out the team, which finished second in 7:30.66.
Running in place of Brian Klein, who is still nursing a ligament injury, Armenteros was not satisfied with the outcome.
"We should have won," he said. "When I'm running Brian's leg, the difference can be anywhere from 3-4 to 7-8 seconds."
The distance medley relay also finished second in 10:06.
Individually, Quinton Milner's 51.38 earned him a second-place in the 400-meter hurdles.
"Quinton is as strong now as he's ever been," Warren said. "We expect him to qualify for nationals and the Olympic Trials."
In the field, Odimgbe could manage to put the shot only 53-7.75 and finished 18th.
Derras Wilmington's leap of 22-5.75 landed him in seventh in the long jump.
"We got out there to compete with some of the big teams," Armenteros said in summary. "We weren't too concerned with times, and we gave a decent effort."
But Texas Relays was perhaps the last time when the Owls were not too concerned with times.
This weekend they head to College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational.
"Three of our half-mile studs, Burrow, Small, and Price, will get a chance to run in the open 800 fresh," Warren said. "It would be a perfect meet if all three could get qualifying times. That would require lifetime outdoor PR's, but it could happen."
The fourth half-miler, Klein, has been slow to recover from the injury he sustained in training, and there has been talk of redshirting him.
"That's certainly a possibility," said Warren. "He's already qualified for the Olympic trials, and that might give him his best chance at making the [Olympic] team."
"The rest of the team is far from peaking," he continued. "We're expecting good things at Penn Relays, Conference and Nationals. You might say that everything up until now has been the preseason. Now the season's ready to start."
One man on pace is Wilmington. He decided to sit out the indoor season to train.
"In the past I've finished football, jumped right in and then felt behind. That got to me psychologically," Wilmington said. This year, however, his opening jumps have begun where his top marks ended last year. "The decision to train is paying off big time," he said.
If the improvement continues he could be a major factor by Conference. By then Wilmington hopes to be jumping "around 25-6" -- enough to challenge Houston's Sheddric Fields.
If all goes well for Wilmington and the rest of the Owls, they should become a force to be reckoned with in the coming weeks.
This item appeared in the Sports section of the April 12, 1996 issue.
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