Owls Set to Host Justin Cooper Rice Invitational
9/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
By: Kenny Bybee (kab10@rice.edu)
HOUSTON - Rice cross country launches the start of their 2016 season this Friday, Sept. 9 when they host the Justin Cooper Rice Invitational at the Rice Intramural Fields. The women's race begins at 6:15 p.m., followed by the men at approximately 6:45 p.m.
Admission for Friday's 13-team meet is free, as is parking located in West Lot 4.
The defendeing C-USA champion Rice Owls women's team will be led by senior Cali Roper, who was the 2015 C-USA individual champion (her second straight title), and in the process became only the third runner in league history to win the C-USA Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year in consecutive years.
The Owls also return senior Katie Jensen, who earned C-USA First-Team All-Conference honors last year by placing second at the C-USA Championships. Other key returnees include junior Elsa Racasan (Second-Team All-Conference), senior Hannah Kay (Third-Team All-Conference) and sophomore Abigail Cartwright ((Third-Team All-Conference).
Under the reigning C-USA Coach of the Year Jim Bevan, the Owls were picked to win C-USA yet again in the inaugural Coaches' Poll and will enter Friday ranked third in the USTFCCCA South Central Region Preseason Poll. In addition, the Owls also received one vote in the USTFCCCA Top 30 national poll.
Including Rice, Friday's women's race will involve four of the top 15 teams from the USTFCCCA South Central Region Preseason Poll. Along with the Owls (3rd), Stephen F. Austin (7th), Houston (11th) and McNeese St. (12th) are included. Rounding out the women's field is Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word, LSU, Louisiana-Lafayette, Prairie View, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas A&M International, Texas Southern and Texas State.
The Rice men's team is ranked 11th in the USTFCCCA South Central Region Preseason Poll and were picked to place fourth in the C-USA Coaches' Poll. Rice returns 10 runners from last year's squad, including Second-Team All-Conference juniors Brad Dohner and Marco Ruiz.
Along with Rice (11th), the men's race will feature five of USTFCCCA's South Central top 15 teams. Stephen F. Austin (4th), McNeese St. (8th), Houston (10th) andTexas A&M-Corpus Christi (13th) also enter Friday's race with high expectations. In addition, Houston Baptist, Incarnate Word, LSU, Louisiana-Lafayette, Prairie View, Texas A&M International and Texas State will race on Friday.
Results following Friday's will be available on RiceOwls.com.
-RiceOwls.com-
Players Mentioned
