Rice University Athletics
Track and Field: Owls Shine at A&M Invitational
4/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
The women's 4x100 meter relay squad of seniors LaKeisha Robertson, Konnett Mays and Kelechi Anderson and junior Keitha Moseley automatically qualified for the NCAA outdoor championships, to be held in Eugene, Ore. May 30-June 2, with a time of 44.0 (hand time) in a first-place finish. The mark is also the best in the Western Athletic Conference this season. The Owls 4x400 meter relay team took second with a time of 3:48.61.
Junior Aimee Teteris claimed a bronze medal with a league-leading time of 2:08.95 in the 800 meters, beating former Owl Shaquandra Roberson, who holds the Rice record in the 800 meters, by almost two seconds. Roberson crossed the line in fifth-place.
Sophomore Allison Beckford posted a conference best 23.78 in the 200 meters, clearly defeating former Owl standout Andrea Blackett, who crossed the line 16th with a mark of 24.71. Junior Keitha Moseley ran the 100 meter hurdles in a time of 13.85, also the best in the WAC this spring. In the 1,500 meters, junior Erin Brand improved her time, and finished third with a time of 4:32.77, second in the conference. Junior Katie Waite took the gold in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 11:20.41, third best in the conference.
In the field events, Jessica Sommerfeld claimed three top-five finishes, highlighted by a first-place victory in the javelin with a throw of 141-04, the best of any Owl this season. Sommerfeld also took second in the shot put with a heave of 47-07, and added a discus throw of 152-09, for a fourth-place finish, and the second best mark in the WAC.
On the men's side, Jeff Jorgensen continued to excel in the 100 meters, improving his time by two-hundredths of a second, in a seventh-place finish. Dimitri Thomas took the bronze in the 400 meters with a mark of 48.73, while freshman Daniel Pessing claimed gold in the 800 meters with a time of 1:51.36, the best on the Rice squad this spring. Sean O'Brien claimed the bronze in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:59.70, tops for any Owl this season. The Owls 4x400 squad of senior Rashad Stafford, freshmen Adam Davis, Thomas and Jorgensen nabbed the gold with a time of 3:12.81. Stafford finished in the top 10 in the hurdle events, with a sixth-place finish in the 110 meter hurdles, and a third-place finish in the 400 meter hurdles.
Junior Todd LeBlanc grabbed fifth-place in the triple jump in his first competition of the 2001 outdoor season with a leap of 47-08 1/2, and sophomore Ryan Harlan finished seventh in the shot put with a throw of 44-06 1/4.
Next up for the Rice women is the USTCA Meet in Austin next weekend. The men will head north to Fort Worth for the TCU Invitational, while some members of the team will run in the Mount SAC relays in California. The WAC outdoor championships are May 16-19 in Fresno, Calif.
