Rice University
Justin F. Cooper Memorial Rice Invitational
Wade, Pye, and Madanay Lead the Owls to Victory
9/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 16, 2011
Houston - The senior duo of Becky Wade and Allison Pye finished first and third respectively to lead the Rice Owls women's cross country team to a narrow first place finish at the 36th Justin F. Cooper Memorial Rice Invitational held on the Rice campus.
Stephen F. Austin's Lauren Smith was second (13:48), but did not factor into the team scoring as SFA did not run a full squad. Texas A&M Corpus Christi placed second in the team standings with 45 points.
"This was the most competitive Rice invite in eight to ten years," stated Rice head coach Jim Bevan. "We were happy to pull out a tight victory and my respect goes out to the way our ladies finished. They finished strong and moved up over the last mile."
Wade completed the 4k circuit with a time of 13:41, while Pye finished at 13:58. Sophomore Farah Madanay was fifth (14:22).
"Becky Wade was outstanding in her first race at 100 percent in almost two years," said Bevan. "I give her great kudos for her perseverance. She ran a smart race, and moved up and then away to take the race. Allison Pye gives us a great one-two punch, starting off the season ahead of last year and looking great. Farrah Madanay has made herself into a first class runner on a great team.
Two freshmen, Sasha Schoch (14:54) and Allie Schaich (14:59) fared well in their maiden collegiate event, finishing 20th and 23rd respectively.
Said Bevan of the duo, "Our freshman, Allie Schaich and Sasha Schoch ran tough in their first race as Owls! They hung tough and moved up throughout to finish our low score."
The Owls are in action on Sept 23 when they run at the Islander Splash hosted Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Team Scores
1 Rice, 41
2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi,45
3 Lamar, 69
4 McNeese State, 89
5 Tulane, 120
6 Houston Baptist, 146
7 Texas Southern, 220
Rice Results
1 Becky Wade, 13:41
3 Allison Pye, 13:58
5 Farah Madanay, 14:22
20 Sasha Schoch, 14:54
23 Allie Schaich, 14:59
25 Lindsay Miller, 15:03
39 Kathleen Abadie, 15:34
40 Heather Olson, 15:35
41 Johanna Ohm, 15:38
47 Marie Walsh, 15:55
70 Amanda Gutierrez, 18:18
Players Mentioned
