Women's track places in first at New Mexico meet
Usually, lightning storms and track meets do not mix well. That was not the case this weekend as the women's track team overcame cold and windy conditions, in addition to lightning delays, to take first place at the New Mexico Tailwind Invitational held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. Only sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers and weight throwers traveled to New Mexico, as the meet typically boasts strong tail winds - always helpful for sprinters - and fair conditions. The meet showcased the exact opposite, with headwinds both days and stormy weather on Saturday with temperatures in the 40s and 50s, far cooler than the temperatures in which the Owls typically compete.
On Saturday, the lightning was so severe that there were three delays during the day, with some of the runners being forced to warm up several times for the same race.
Junior Shakera Reece, along with the rest of Rice's 4x100 relay team of sophomore Kim Stanford, junior Sarah Lyons and freshman Lucie Cincinatis, had to deal with the multiple delays. While the 4x100 squad ultimately finished first, Reece believed warming up several times did affect her performance.
"[It didn't affect] the first race, but coming on towards the end warming up so many times takes a toll on your body," Reece said. "At the end of the day, I just had to get my mind right. It's mostly mental - you can be in great physical shape but if you don't have your mind there, you're not going to do well."
Even though the weather was definitely an obstacle for the Owls, Head Coach Jim Bevan was happy with how his runners adapted to the conditions.
"We did a good job of dealing with the uncertainties of when we will compete," Bevan said. "I really enjoyed how they competed in adverse conditions."
Reece, who won three events and placed second in a fourth, led the Owls amidst the severe weather. Reece placed first in the 100 meter run, the 4x100 relay and the 4x400 relay. In the 200 run, Reece came from behind to take second, even though she wasn't in her blocks when the starting gun went off.
"I was trying to decide whether I should run, whether I should hang behind and maybe get a false start or just continue," Reece said. "I told myself, 'Let me try to go do this because they're not going to stop the race for me.' I just continued running and ran hard and ended up in second place."
Although Reece finished first in the 100, she still sees room for improvement in her performance. Her time of 11.71, although far ahead of second place this weekend (12.17) is not nearly as quick as her school record, set in 2007, and personal best of 11.34.
Reece has struggled to return to her previous speed largely due to an injury last season, so Bevan is happy with her progression.
"Shakera has been improving steadily," he said. "She is now just starting to regain all her qualities from her freshman year."
In addition to Reece's performances, Rice's hurdlers also competed well in New Mexico. In particular, Cincinatis, Stanford and sophomore Alex Gibbs placed second, third and fifth, respectively, in the 100 hurdles. Stanford also took fifth in the 400 hurdles.
Bevan really liked the way his hurdlers competed, considering the difficult conditions.
"We have three very good hurdlers," the coach said. "There was a headwind and cold in the sprint hurdles but I like how we were able to get over it. If we ever get warm weather we're all going to fly."
Even without favorable conditions, Rice managed to win the meet by five points with score of 140. The victory is most impressive considering Rice did not even enter six out of the 19 events at the meet, as the distance runners rested to prepare for this weekend's Mount SAC Invitational. Bevan plans to send six or seven runners to California for the meet, including seniors Lennie Waite and Callie Wells, juniors Nicole Mericle and Britany Williams and sophomores Allison Pye and Becky Wade.
Mount SAC will boast 80-100 schools who only bring their top three to eight runners. The ripe competition at Mount SAC should be a great opportunity for the team, according to Bevan.
"Mount SAC is the best distance race in the country this year," Bevan said. "Our goal is to get high regional or national marks.
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