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| Men finish fourth in season opener |
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by Anders Ryerson
The men's cross country team kicked off the start of its season with a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in the Rice Cross Country Relays, held among the hills alongside the Buffalo Bayou. Texas A&M University won the non-conference meet which consisted of a race with pairs of runners running a 2000-meter leg and a 4,000-meter leg each, a 12,000-meter race overall. The meet also included the University of Houston, Texas Southern University, Stephen F. Austin University, Baylor University and various unattached runners. Senior Jamie DeMahy and freshman John Jura led the team that finished in eighth place with a time of 41 minutes and four seconds. Freshman Mike Nalepa and sophomore Scott Palmer finished in 42:37 for 17th place. Sophomore Jeff Piper and freshman Roger Pine crossed the finish line in 25th place with a time of 44:41. Rice alumni Luis Armenteros and Jeff Lewis won the overall race in 40:03, while former Owl and Rice fifth-year Adam Reiser ran on the second place team which finished in 40:17. The race gave the team the chance to see the results of summer training and see how new runners would perform. Although on the young side, this year's team makes up for age with talent. Four of the top seven members of the team are freshmen, with DeMahy, who last year led the Owls in two of the team's meets, holding the position of the lone senior. "The team is freshmen-oriented. We are doing a longer-term program for the season with the goal to hopefully make it to nationals," Coach Jon Warren said. September's training consists of long runs, intensifying in October in preparation for the important races in November, DeMahy said. "This year we are not worried until the conference and district meets. We are hoping for a top-five finish at conference and a good showing at districts," DeMahy said. Although the preseason Western Athletic Conference coaches' poll ranks Rice twelfth, the team sees the district race in Denton, Tx. on Nov. 15 as its ultimate goal. While the team has a "slim chance at a top-two finish, finishing in the top four or five would be great," Warren said.
This item appeared in the Sports section of the September 19, 1997 issue. |
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