Saturday, September 28
Lake Charles, LA
8:20 a.m.
Rice University
at
McNeese Cowboy Stampede
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Owls Take Fifth at Chile Pepper Festival Behind Strong Freshmen Showing
9/28/2024 12:24:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
FAYETTEVILLE - The Rice Owls women's cross country team had a great showing at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, having all five point scorers finishing in the top 32 of the Harter's Habanero 5K race. The Owls finished 5th as a team among a highly competitive field of ranked schools from NCAA Division I and II.
The Owls also had runners at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede this morning.
Post-Meet Reaction: Head Coach Jim Bevan
"Tremendous job by this team. We ran really well as a group. This is Oliwia Kopec's second ever cross country race and she did an outstanding job leading Rice. Daphne Mayer also ran a great race for us, with almost a two-minute personal best today. She is really finding her rhythm and is becoming a great runner for us. Amelie had a breakthrough race today for the 5k and Taigen was also back today and ran very well. Alex Gobran and Molly Humes also had personal best times for us. A lot of personal bests today so you have to be happy about that. This was a great team performance and I am very pleased with where we are at as a team right now. I think we are going to continue to grow and continue to get better as a group. It's still very early in the season, but I am really happy about where we are at."
The Rice freshman shined once again, with Kopec pacing the Owls by finishing 15th for the 5k race with a time of 16:59.8. Another Rice freshman, Daphne Mayer, was close behind in 23rd.
Amelie Attenborough and Taigen Hunter-Galvan had great season debuts, finishing 28th and 31st, respectively, while Alex Gobran rounded out the Rice scorers in 32nd.
The Owls had eight runners finish in the top-50 of the race, with Heidi Nielson (35th), Molly Humes (42nd) and Brooklyn Crow (44th) also having a strong race.
Over in Louisiana, Elle Garcia led a group of Owls at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede, finishing 11th for the 5k race, followed by top-30 finishes from Sutton Walsh and Cullen Merrell.
The Owls will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 5, at the DBU Old Glory Gallop.
Rice Performers – Chile Pepper Festival (Out of 249 runners)
15. Oliwia Kopec – 16:59.8
23. Daphne Mayer – 17:09.5
28. Amelie Attenborough – 17:18.6
31. Taigen Hunter-Galvan – 17:21.0
32. Alex Gobran – 17:23.5
35. Heidi Nielson – 17:26.2
42. Molly Humes – 17:34.7
44. Brooklyn Crow – 17:36.6
60. Emma Hourican – 17:56.0
110. Katlyn Schmeltzer – 18:37.4
127. Ava White – 19:02.9
144. Cici Calhoun – 19:18.5
Team Finish – Chile Pepper Festival (Out of 27)
1. Texas – 42 points
2. LSU – 75
3. No. 12 Arkansas - 88
4. No. 5 (DII) CSU Pueblo – 118
5. Rice – 127
6. No. 3 (DII) Western Colorado – 197
7. Dallas Baptist – 247
8. UC Santa Barbara - 303
Rice Performers – McNeese Cowboy Stampede
11. Elle Garcia – 18:25.81
26. Sutton Walsh – 19:02.26
29. Cullen Merrell – 19:32.93
The Owls also had runners at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede this morning.
Post-Meet Reaction: Head Coach Jim Bevan
"Tremendous job by this team. We ran really well as a group. This is Oliwia Kopec's second ever cross country race and she did an outstanding job leading Rice. Daphne Mayer also ran a great race for us, with almost a two-minute personal best today. She is really finding her rhythm and is becoming a great runner for us. Amelie had a breakthrough race today for the 5k and Taigen was also back today and ran very well. Alex Gobran and Molly Humes also had personal best times for us. A lot of personal bests today so you have to be happy about that. This was a great team performance and I am very pleased with where we are at as a team right now. I think we are going to continue to grow and continue to get better as a group. It's still very early in the season, but I am really happy about where we are at."
The Rice freshman shined once again, with Kopec pacing the Owls by finishing 15th for the 5k race with a time of 16:59.8. Another Rice freshman, Daphne Mayer, was close behind in 23rd.
Amelie Attenborough and Taigen Hunter-Galvan had great season debuts, finishing 28th and 31st, respectively, while Alex Gobran rounded out the Rice scorers in 32nd.
The Owls had eight runners finish in the top-50 of the race, with Heidi Nielson (35th), Molly Humes (42nd) and Brooklyn Crow (44th) also having a strong race.
Over in Louisiana, Elle Garcia led a group of Owls at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede, finishing 11th for the 5k race, followed by top-30 finishes from Sutton Walsh and Cullen Merrell.
The Owls will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 5, at the DBU Old Glory Gallop.
Rice Performers – Chile Pepper Festival (Out of 249 runners)
15. Oliwia Kopec – 16:59.8
23. Daphne Mayer – 17:09.5
28. Amelie Attenborough – 17:18.6
31. Taigen Hunter-Galvan – 17:21.0
32. Alex Gobran – 17:23.5
35. Heidi Nielson – 17:26.2
42. Molly Humes – 17:34.7
44. Brooklyn Crow – 17:36.6
60. Emma Hourican – 17:56.0
110. Katlyn Schmeltzer – 18:37.4
127. Ava White – 19:02.9
144. Cici Calhoun – 19:18.5
Team Finish – Chile Pepper Festival (Out of 27)
1. Texas – 42 points
2. LSU – 75
3. No. 12 Arkansas - 88
4. No. 5 (DII) CSU Pueblo – 118
5. Rice – 127
6. No. 3 (DII) Western Colorado – 197
7. Dallas Baptist – 247
8. UC Santa Barbara - 303
Rice Performers – McNeese Cowboy Stampede
11. Elle Garcia – 18:25.81
26. Sutton Walsh – 19:02.26
29. Cullen Merrell – 19:32.93
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
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ 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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