Amata, Slinkman Victorious at C-USA Championships

Calendar

Men's Track & Field

at Ted Nelson Invite

Jan 23

Men's Track & Field

at Ted Nelson Invite

Jan 23

Men's Track & Field

at Robert Platt Invitational

Jan 30

Men's Track & Field

at Robert Platt Invitational

Jan 30

Men's Track & Field

at Charlie Thomas Invite

Feb 6

Men's Track & Field

at Charlie Thomas Invite

Feb 6

Men's Track & Field

at Howie Ryan Invite

Feb 13

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Rice Owls men's track and field team won two more individual titles, claimed six all-conference spots, and qualified three more athletes for Sunday's finals on Saturday on day three of the Conference USA Championships.

Sophomore Ese Amata won a thrilling high jump competition, besting MTSU's Omamuyowi in a jump off by clearing 2.17m for a new personal best mark. Amata's victory was his first career C-USA title and his mark now ranks eighth in the NCAA West region and 19th in the NCAA.

The Owls claimed all three spots on the medal stand in the pole vault with sophomore Alex Slinkman winning the competition with a height of 5.23m for his second career C-USA crown. Joining Slinkman on the medal stand was Grant Levesque, who placed second overall (5.18m) one day after earning all-conference honors in the decathlon. Natan Rivera was third overall (5.08m) in the vault, his fourth all-conference performance of his career.

Rice began the day by collecting 20 points in the discus with Samuel Woodley (2nd-53.28m) and Nick Hicks (3rd-52.89m) earning medal stand appearances while Jorge Hinojosa (4th-52.61m) and Elian Ahmar (8th-49.07m) collected additional points.

Junior distance runner Andrew Abikhaled concluded the evening with a sixth place finish (9:11.73) in the 3000m steeplechase to secure three points. In his C-USA Championships debut, and first official meet, Sean Fresch put away the football pads for an afternoon and contributed an eighth place finish in the long jump with a distance of 7.16m (23-06.00) to collect one point.

Rice qualified three athletes for Sunday's finals, which includes Elliot Metcalf (5th-3:52.85) and Alex Topini (7th-3:54.49) in the 1500m and Levesque (7th-14.61) in the 110m hurdles.

The Owls sit in first place in the team standings with 93 points through eight scored events, already surpassing each of the last two championship appearances.

Rice Performances
(High Jump)
1. Ese Amata - 2.17m (PB-won jump off)

(Pole Vault)
1. Alex Slinkman - 5.23m
2. Grant Levesque - 5.18m
3. Natan Rivera - 5.08m

(Discus)
2. Samuel Woodley - 53.28m
3. Nick Hicks - 52.89m
4. Jorge Hinojosa - 52.61m
8. Elian Ahmar - 49.07m

(Long Jump)
8. Sean Fresch - 7.16m (23-06.00)

(3000m Steeplechase)
6. Andrew Abikhaled - 9:11.73
11. Grant Samara - 9:44.53
13. Hociel Landa - 9:58.55

(400m Hurdles-Prelims)
10. Evan Marshman - 54.35
13. Thomas Ma - 55.36

(1500m-Prelims)
5. Elliot Metcalf - 3:52.85q
7. Alex Topini - 3:54.49q

(110m Hurdles-Prelims)
7. Grant Levesque - 14.61q

(100m-Prelims)
24. Austin Conrad - 10.96

(800m-Prelims)
19. Davis Thames - 1:56.18
20. Ronen Oosthuizen - 1:56.22
21. Jason Bugg - 1:56.61

(200m-Prelims)
24. Austin Conrad - 22.34

-RiceOwls.com-

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results