Men's track focuses on outdoor season
A few Owls kicked off the men's outdoor track and field season early this past weekend, with a sampling of the members of the men's track and field team competing at both the Texas Southern University Relays in Houston and the Hurricane Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla. Redshirt sophomore Ugo Nduaguba was named Conference USA Co-Athlete of the Week for his automatic qualifying mark of 15.61 meters in the triple jump at the TSU Relays, good for first place, while freshman Clayton Chaney and sophomore Connor Hayes took second and fourth, respectively, in the decathlon at the Hurricane Invitational.
Head Coach Jon Warren (Jones '88) said he was happy with these promising results.
"Clayton was right where we expect he would be, and I fully expect that he will be a national-contender type of guy at some point in his career," Warren said. "Connor did well and I think he could easily get to the 6,200-point mark this season. Ugo's jumping really well, and we hope he continues his performance from indoor into the spring."
The outdoor track and field season brings with it the addition of several events that could not be performed indoors, including the discus throw, javelin, steeplechase and several relays. Rice will compete as a team for the first time this weekend as they host the 27th-annual Victor Lopez Rice Bayou Classic this Friday and Saturday at the Wendel D. Ley Track.
The team will then compete throughout next week at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas.
Warren said he will be looking for improvements in all events, particularly in the field and distance events.
"Our distance runners need to come through a little better," Warren said. "Adding the steeplechase should be a help to us. Adding the 10,000 [run] could help both us and [the University of] Tulsa. We need to score more than one person in the 800 and 1500 [runs] all the way up. That's not easy, but I think that's an area where we underperform."
Seniors Brett Olson, Justin Maxwell, Charles Hampton and sophomore Michael Trejo are all returning scorers in the steeplechase event from the 2008 C-USA Outdoor Championships.
The Owls should also be able to continue their indoor success in the throwing events, with sophomores Clay Baker and William Meyers leading the way.
"Adding the discus is a plus for us, because Clay does the discus along with the hammer and shot very well," Warren said. "Will's throwing great in the shot. I think he'll just be getting better."
Nduaguba's performance at the TSU Relays may help the jumpers get off to a good start and make contributions to the team early on, especially with the return of freshman high jumper Jack Spinks.
Despite losing some sprinters to Saturday's football scrimmage, Warren said he expects the other members to step up.
"The relays will help us, and the quarter-mile hurdles will be good," Warren said. "I think [freshman] Collin Shurbet is now really in his best area with that event."
Now that the indoor season has ended, the team can turn its attention to outdoor competition.
Overall, Warren said he realized the amount his team has to improve not only within C-USA, but also nationally. With the success of the pole vaulters in the indoor season, including junior Jason Colwick's national championship, Warren said he hoped that the rest of the team could build off Colwick's success and raise its national standing.
"There's areas where we can see immediate improvement," Warren said. "It's going to be very much a challenge to put all that together, but if we do, I think we have a shot. If we could score a few more points here and there and Jason could continue with similar success, we could be [in the] top 20 nationally."
Warren said he knows Rice has the skills to improve from the indoor season but realizes the intangibles will also need to fall into place to create a perfect season for the Owls, who finished a disappointing third at the indoor championships.
"That's the main thing: We didn't do a good job of putting it together ideally at conference," Warren said. "We faltered near as we shouldn't have. I think these added events will be to our benefit.
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