Rice University Athletics
Rice University
NCAA Regionals
Powell, Solares Automatically Qualify for NCAA Nationals
5/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track & Field
May 27, 2006
Austin -
Jason Powell finished second in the triple jump and Pablo Solares was fifth in the 1500-meters Saturday at the NCAA Midwest Regional to automatically qualify for the national championships at Sacramento, Calif., June 7-10. Powell was the leader until the final round with a best of 15.89 meters/52-1.75 before Minnesota's Derek Gearman passed him to take the win.
Solares, the Conference USA champion, ran in the middle of the pack for the first two laps and moved nearer the front with a lap to go. He covered the final 400-meters in 55.6 seconds to finish at 3:44.53, just .1 seconds off his lifetime best. Defending NCAA champion Leonel Manzano of Texas covered the last 300 in 40.6 to win at 3:42.86.
High jumper Omar Wright was eighth at 2.11/6-11, and will have to wait until Tuesday to find out if he will be awarded an at-large bid to the national meet. Wright is tied for 10th in the national rankings with a best of 2.19/7-2.25 this year.
Senior David Axel was 13th in the 3000-meter steeplechase at 9:20.90.
The Owls finished 18th in the team standings with 12.33 points.
Players Mentioned
