Cross Country: Owls Run for WAC Championships Saturday
10/28/2004 HOUSTON ? The Rice men?s and women?s cross country teams will make runs at Western Athletic Conference titles Saturday in Ruston, La.
The men are looking for their first conference title since the 2001 season, while the women last won the WAC championship in 2002.
For the first time this season, the men will run all 11 on the Rice roster. Head coach Jon Warren will look to sophomore Stephen Magness and junior Marcel Hewamudalige to lead the pack.
?If we run like we know we can, we?ve got a good shot at winning the meet,? said Warren. Magness was the 2003 WAC cross country freshman of the year and has finished in the top-10 in each race he?s participated in this season. Hewamudalige, a two-time WAC runner of the week this season, has paced the Owls to their success this fall. The Vancouver, B.C., native won both the Rice Invitational and the Islander Opener Splash and finished third at the prestigious Chile Pepper Invitational earlier this season.
The women will be paced by junior Kate Gorry and freshman Marissa Daniels. Gorry has posted top-10 finishes in each of her four races this season, including a ninth-place finish at the challenging Roy Griak Invitational. Daniels has come on strong in her rookie season, placing in the top-five at her first three collegiate meets.
?We?re in the best shape we?ve been in all season,? said Jim Bevan, senior assistant in charge of cross country. ?We?re better than last year, and we?re looking to reclaim the conference title.?
The 2004 edition of the WAC cross country championship will be held at Lincoln Parish Park in Ruston, La. The men will get things started with an 8K race at 9:30 am, followed by the women?s 5K at 10:30. All 10 teams from the WAC will compete on the women?s side, while the men sponsor just six teams.
For complete information on WAC cross country, visit the WAC website at www.wacsports.com. Complete results and information will be available on the WAC website following the meet on Saturday. |
