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Track and Field: Rice Heads to Drake Relays
4/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
April 25, 2001
HOUSTON - The Rice men's and women's track and field teams will pack up and head north to Des Moines, Iowa for the 92nd Drake Relays to be held April 26-28 at Drake Stadium.
The women's team is ranked 12th in the country in the latest poll by Trackwire (April 17), the highest ranking the Owls have received all year. The women will look to sophomore Allison Beckford to continue her winning ways this weekend in Iowa. The Westmoreland, Jamaica native owns the second fastest NCAA 400 meter hurdle time this season, with an automatic qualifying time of 56.50 posted at the Texas Relays. LaKeisha Robertson will look to improve her 100 meter dash time in hopes of qualifying for the NCAA outdoor championships to be held May 30-June 2 in Eugene, Ore. The senior from San Antonio stands at fourth in the conference with a time of 11.57. The WAC leading 4x400 relay squad of seniors Kelechi Anderson, Robertson, junior Aimee Teteris and Beckford have already posted an NCAA provisional mark of 3:35.62, but have hopes of improving that time significantly this weekend in Iowa.
"I am looking for great things this weekend," women's head coach Victor Lopez said. "This is a fundamental meet for us. I want to see results."
Also searching for better results will be the 800 meter duo of sophomore Teteris and sophomore Tanya Wright. The two currently stand third and fourth, respectively, in the conference.
For the men, relay is the word for the weekend. The Owls are scheduled to compete in the 4x100-, 4x400- and 4x800-meter, and distance medley relays in Iowa. Sophomore Jeff Jorgensen will play a vital role in the 4x100 and 4x400. The Houston native owns a top 10 time in the conference in the 100 meters. Junior Keith Pierce, who notched a personal best 3:47.14 last weekend in the 1,500 meters, will run in the 4x400 and DMR, as well as the 1,500 meters. Hurdle sensation Rashad Stafford, running in his last outdoor season for the Owls, hopes to qualify for the national meet in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles. Stafford currently stands in second in the conference in both events. In the field events, sophomores Tommy Oleksy and Vaughn Walwyn will take a shot at improving their long jump marks. The duo currently stand in second and fourth, respectively, in the conference, both having posted NCAA provisional qualifying marks earlier this season. Junior Todd LeBlanc will take his turn in the triple jump, while sophomore Ryan Harlan will throw the javelin.
"Our main goal for this weekend is to have fun competing," sixth-year men's head coach Raymond Davidson said. "We're going up there to enjoy ourselves and relax in preparation for finals next week. I know we'll do the best we can."
8,795 athletes representing 732 teams are scheduled to compete at the Drake Relays this weekend. Complete coverage of the Relays can be found at www.drakerelays.com.
