Rice University
Conference USA Championships
Rice Men Third at C-USA Cross Country
10/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Oct. 28, 2006
Complete Results | Rice Men's Photo Gallery 
Greenville, N.C. -
Rice had top-10 finishes by Aaron Robson and Pablo Solares, and Justin Maxwell was 13th to help pace the Owls to a third-place team finish with 70 points Saturday at the Conference USA men's cross country championships at Lake Kristi near Greenville, N.C. UTEP won the team trophy with 21 points, and Tulsa placed second with 40. Patrick Mutai of UTEP defended his individual title in 24:32.
Robson moved steadily through the pack over the final 3000-meters of the eight-kilometer course to take seventh at 25:34, while Solares was 10th at 25:50 after running near the lead pack in the early stages. Maxwell also finished strongly to clock 26:05 and earn all-conference honors.
The Owls also had Brad Morris in 19th at 26:34 and Brett Olson in 21st at 26:39 to complete their scoring. Other finishers for Rice were Alex Solomon (24th at 26:50), Andrew Zukoski (28th at 27:02), Scott Zivick (32nd at 27:07) and John Buck (53rd at 29:15). The team was without two of its top runners in Charles Hampton and Simon Bucknell, due to injury.
"We knew coming in that if we ran well we could be a strong third," said Rice head coach Jon Warren. "The wind was a big obstacle for Pablo Solares, but Aaron Robson really stepped up and performed."
Players Mentioned
