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The Rice Thresher
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by Jason Gershman thresher editorial staff Injuries and illness have plagued the men's cross country team all season. Unfortunately, Saturday's Western Athletic Conference Championship meet was just more of the same. The Owls, depleted so severely that five of their six finishers were walk-on athletes, still managed to post a respectable fifth-place finish in the nine-team field. Southern Methodist University edged the University of Texas at El Paso to win the WAC Championship. SMU totaled 54 points, while UTEP had 58. Rice, last year's WAC champion, finished with 110. The Owls knew defending their WAC title would be tough. The trouble started when senior Lachlan McArthur, Rice's top runner, went down with a hip injury during the first week of the season, but the Owls remained optimistic. And then the injuries continued. By the start of the WAC meet, the Owls had lost senior Justin Burrow, sophomore Tom Ring and freshmen Sean O'Brian, Nathan Spencer and Andrew Courtwright. When a sudden illness forced sophomore Keith Pierce, Rice's No. 2 runner, to retire midway through the race, the Owls realized it just wasn't meant to be. "There was something medically wrong with him," head coach Jon Warren said. "He was awesome after two miles and had moved into the top 10 and was looking better than everyone around him. Then, the bottom fell out, which doesn't happen for Keith because he's in great shape. The heart and soul was there, but the body didn't come through." There were bright spots. Senior John Jura, who has led the Owls the entire season, finished the race fifth and was the first American-born runner to cross the finish line. He completed the eight-kilometer course in 25 minutes, 38 seconds. Jura was named to the all-WAC first team after making the second team last year. "I tried to go out with the pack and go with the leaders when they separated and I hung with them until halfway in the race," Jura said. The race went according to plan, nothing spectacular. I'm happy with my race." Following Jura to the finish line were senior Scott Palmer, freshman Tim Oberg and sophomore Jeremy LaBuff, who finished 20th, 22nd and 23rd, respectively. The final Owls to cross the finish line were freshman Ben Black and senior Corbett Redden, who finished 40th and 42nd. The Owls' 110 points were just 15 more than third-place Fresno State University. "Everybody ran great," Warren said. "If Keith had been able to finish where he was running, we would have finished third, which is great considering what we have gone through this season." The Owls now turn their attention to the NCAA South-Central District meet Nov. 11 at the University of North Texas in Denton. While finishing as one of the top two teams is considered a longshot, Jura hopes to contend for an individual bid to the NCAA meet. "To get to nationals is still a possibility," Jura said. "I'll have to run my best race of the year to have a shot at it." The Owls will face a field of the best runners from Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, led by third-ranked University of Arkansas. While last year the Owls were focused on securing a bid for nationals, they will run with a different approach this year. "I'm telling them to go up and take some chances and have some fun," Warren said. "They should take some risks. Go out with Arkansas. Do something you've never done. We're going to have a good time next week. How we finish is irrelevant."
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