Saturday, October 31
Birmingham, AL
9 A.M. CT
Rice University
vs
C-USA Championships
Photo by: CUSA
Forbes Wins C-USA Championship Individual Title
10/31/2020 12:09:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
Owls place fourth as a team
BIRMINGHAM, AL - The Rice Owls women's cross country squad made their lone appearance of the fall by finishing fourth as a team at the 2020 C-USA Championships at Veterans Park.
"For this being our first race since February it was quite a challenge but they responded and competed exceedingly well," Rice head coach Jim Bevan said. "You really don't know what to expect when you've been away from competition for so long and some of our competitors today have raced three or four times prior to this one. For us to rise to the occasion in a championship atmosphere makes me very happy."
Sophomore sensation Grace Forbes stole the show with a dominant performance, becoming just the third Owl in the team's history to win an individual title. Last year's C-USA Freshman of the Meet won on Saturday by nearly a full minute with a time of 19:58.60 in the 6K race and punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships, to be held March 15, 2021 at Oklahoma State.
Forbes joined Cali Roper (C-USA, 2014 & 2015) and Kate Gorry (WAC, 2004) as the lone Owls to win an individual conference title.
"I think all in all we are all very happy about the race," Forbes said. "Since we hadn't raced in nearly nine months, we all just tried to do our best. I had been training really hard these past few months and was very excited to show what I had and represent Rice well. It was a beautiful day and we were so blessed with the opportunity to compete during these times, so it was all around a perfect day. I'm looking forward to making Rice proud in the future!"
In addition to Forbes. freshman Taigen Hunter-Galvan also earned all-conference honors by finishing 21st overall with a time of 22:32.56. She was followed by Rachel Shoemaker (22:36.39), who nearly also earned all-conference honors by placing 24th. Natalie Goddard (23:04.04) was 35th overall, an improvement from 73rd last season, while freshman Haley Allen made her Rice and 6K debut with a 39th place result of 23:15.36. Ashley Messineo (23:36.58) and Maddie Forbes (24:16.35) rounded out the seven competitors for the Owls.
Middle Tennessee (31 points) won the team title while Charlotte (75 points) and Southern Miss (108 points) finished second and third, respectively.
-RiceOwls.com-
"For this being our first race since February it was quite a challenge but they responded and competed exceedingly well," Rice head coach Jim Bevan said. "You really don't know what to expect when you've been away from competition for so long and some of our competitors today have raced three or four times prior to this one. For us to rise to the occasion in a championship atmosphere makes me very happy."
Sophomore sensation Grace Forbes stole the show with a dominant performance, becoming just the third Owl in the team's history to win an individual title. Last year's C-USA Freshman of the Meet won on Saturday by nearly a full minute with a time of 19:58.60 in the 6K race and punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships, to be held March 15, 2021 at Oklahoma State.
Forbes joined Cali Roper (C-USA, 2014 & 2015) and Kate Gorry (WAC, 2004) as the lone Owls to win an individual conference title.
"I think all in all we are all very happy about the race," Forbes said. "Since we hadn't raced in nearly nine months, we all just tried to do our best. I had been training really hard these past few months and was very excited to show what I had and represent Rice well. It was a beautiful day and we were so blessed with the opportunity to compete during these times, so it was all around a perfect day. I'm looking forward to making Rice proud in the future!"
In addition to Forbes. freshman Taigen Hunter-Galvan also earned all-conference honors by finishing 21st overall with a time of 22:32.56. She was followed by Rachel Shoemaker (22:36.39), who nearly also earned all-conference honors by placing 24th. Natalie Goddard (23:04.04) was 35th overall, an improvement from 73rd last season, while freshman Haley Allen made her Rice and 6K debut with a 39th place result of 23:15.36. Ashley Messineo (23:36.58) and Maddie Forbes (24:16.35) rounded out the seven competitors for the Owls.
Middle Tennessee (31 points) won the team title while Charlotte (75 points) and Southern Miss (108 points) finished second and third, respectively.
-RiceOwls.com-
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
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