The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 6, 1987 Page: 16 of 20
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16 Friday, November 6,1987 THRESHER Sports
Harriers sizzle at SWC championships
by Anthony Wills
The men's and women's cross coun-
try teams turned in superb perform-
ances by finishing second and third,
respectively, in the Southwest Con-
ference Championship meet held in
Fayetteville, Ark.
The men came in second to the
number one ranked Arkansas Razor-
backs, in what head coach Steve
Straub called, "A hell of an athletic
event." The harriers shocked the
eleventh ranked Texas Longhoms in
what was an upset to everyone but the
Owl cross country team. Straub said,
"We felt that we had a chance to beat
them (UT) ever since the Georgetown
Invitational in which we had a subpar
performance but came close."
Rice was led by the fabulous senior
trio of Tony Martinez, Jon Warren,
and Alfredo Gomez, each of whom
set personal records on the 5 mile
Razorback Golf Course. Martinez
snared fourth overall in 24:15.30,
followed by Warren who finished
fifth with a 24:18.04, and Gomez who
placed 12th with a time of 24:51.10.
The fourth and fifth man for the harri-
ers came through as senior Rich
Dissly and junior Bill Barret also set
personal records. Dissly ran a
25:24.29 to finish 22nd and Barrett
ended up 24th witha25:30.25. Assis-
tant cross country coach Jerry Fuqua
was quick to note, "We simply kicked
ass." Indeed, the Owls second place
finish was their best effort since 1979
when they placed 2nd and finished
among the top 20 teams in the coun-
try.
Straub said, "this is as good a team
and individual effort we've had'here
at Rice. I was especially proud of the
way we prepared ourselves mentally
and most of the credit has to go to the
senior leadership." Straub mentioned
it was very beneficial for the team to
go up to Arkansas a couple of weeks
ago to run. This time around they ran
smarter and executed well.
Straub noted, "at the first mile mark,
the leaders were coming in at 4:20,
our seventh man (Lance) came in at
4:34. He's come a long way since last
year when his p.r. in the mile was
4:36." Straub also said the harriers
seemed to recover from the race much
faster than the other runners. "They
carried off two of the Arkansas kids
and the guys from UT were down. We
recovered physically and psychologi-
cally in about5 minutes." This shows
that the team still has better races
ahead of them. They will have to turn
in another top performance at the Dis-
trict VI meet in order to assure one of
the three available spots to Nationals.
In other cross country news, Steve
Straub was named the SWC coach of
the year by his rival coaches. Tliis is
the first time that Straub has garnered
this top honor. Straub said, "It's more
meaningful to be voted for an award
such as this by your peers. Nobody
else knows more about what is going
on than your peers do." Straub also
acknowledged that part of the credit
should go to the Owls cross country
team. "The core of the team is the
same as last year's. They just really
worked hard back in January and the
summer to prepare for this year. I'm
not just talking about the seven who
went to the Conference Meet but also
the 15 or so guys who helped push the
top guys to where they are now. They
all worked hard and have as much to
be proud of."
The Lady Owls •finished third over-
all, behind number one ranked Texas
and sixth ranked Arkansas.
All-America Pam Klassen, the sen-
ior from Winnipeg, Canada, led .the
Owls again, finishing fourth in
16:47.92. Junior Kirs ten Aure also
ran a fine race to place sixth at
17:09.36, a personal best. Junior
Michelle Barz finished 14th in
17:45.34.
True freshman sensation Julie' Jam-
min' Jiskra, running in her home state
where she was the high school cham-
pion last year, turned it on for the
hometown folks and placed 20th
overall in 18:08.21. Freshman
Kirsten Scobie, was 24thin 18:14.32.
Women's Head Coach Victor Lopez
said, "They ran very well, it was a
good team effort. Catherine Spradley
is having physical problems which
are hurting her ability to perform, but
despite that the other runners came
through." Kirsten Aure improved her
time by 50 seconds <-nd has been a
steady perfo;mer behind Klassen.
Lopez added, "She's a national cali-
ber athlete and is on her way to be-
coming another Pam Klassen."
Reflecting on her last cross country
season at Rice Klassen said, "I'll be
sad to leave. I've had a lot of fond
memories here." Klassen, probaly
the best cross country runner the Lady
Owls have had, will leave behind a
slew of records, including being the
first woman to gather Ail-American
honors in cross country. Klassen said
that she would like to improve on her
4th place finish at the District VI meet
last year and also finish in the top ten
at the National Meet.
Looking at the team's goals for the
rest of the season, Klassen said, "We
want to go to Nationals and finish in
the top ten. Some other conferences
are a little mad at us since our confer-
ence will have three teams to compete
at the National Meet. Being the 3rd
team most probaly, we want to show
that we're as good as anyone else in
the country."
New head basketball coach Scott
Thompson will unveil the new edi-
tion of the Owls basketball team to-
night at the Blue-Gray game, start-
ing at 7:30 in Autry Court.
Ruggers revel in bloodshed
by Brian Holmes
"Is all that we see or seem but a
dream within a dream?," said Edgar
Allen Poe. Rice Rugby tried to an-
swer this poetic inquiry last Saturday
at the first annual Rice University in-
vitational rugby tournament.
Rice played Southwest Lousiana
first. The van containing this motley
hoard of cajun curmudgeons arrived
just short of game time. A monstrous
hippy-like figure, wearing a "Meat-
loaf" t-shirt exited the van, carrying a
large cigarette-like object, and ex-
claimed, "I've got die pre-game
THE HEAD HUNTERS
The Rusks are looking for fresh
faces for their latest series of
hair shows and seminars.
The Rusks are about innovation
so if the idea appeals to you...
don't waste time as this
opportunity doesn't happen often.
CONTACT: r i a r o
524-7550
3200 Kirby, Ste. 210
doobie!" Weknew they were serious.
The first half of the game proved to
be a defensive struggle. We pene-
trated into their territory early, far
enough for Pat "foot god" Courtney to
kick a penalty goal for three points.
Our defense held its ground, Tres
Ward, Phil Meyer, and Stuart Lewis
boldly leading the defensive cause.
Clutch offensive kicks by Ali "love
and money" Koc set the stage for
another penalty field goal by Pat
Rice held the Louisiana club to just
one towering drop goal in the first
half, the half time score being 6-3 in
our favor.
In the second half, our defense
crumbled, tackling ability succumb-
ing the bashing of the crawdad eaters.
The swift, but ugly Louisiana backs
were able to score three tries, one a
beautiful pop kick by their flyhalf
which he caught himself in the try
zone. The Rice club seemed to be
inert while Louisiana dominated,
until the game's end when we got our
heads back on and out of our buttock-
ses. Flyhalf Jim Humes went down
heroically with a bruised finger, and
left the game to be comforted by
concerned, nubile females. A per-
fectly executed line fed the ball from
Sean Park to Pat Courtney to Ali Koc,
who ran 30+ yards before feeding it to
Breeon Holmes ,who trotted in for the
score. Pat Courtney made the conver-
sion just before the final whistle. The
final score was Louisiana 17, Rice 12.
So Rice wasn't in the final of this, the
first annual Rice Rugby Invitational.
Our second game, against the local
University of St. Thomas rugby club
showed Rice in its true victorious
colors. Our first score came from a
Sean "sugar rush" Park, who fought
his way viciously into the enemy
tryzone. The early lead evaporated,
however, as the St. Thomas neo-
phytes fought back with a couple of
scores. The two teams were neck and
neck for most of the game, with the
larger St. Thomas scrum offset by the
more organized Rice backs. Some
late tries, and some phenomonal con-
versions from sideline range gave
Rice the final victory.
And so Rice ended the day with a
1 -1 record. Team morale was boosted
by the second win, enough for a
postgame huddle where we resolved
to crush Corpus Christi this weekend
at an away cup match.
The answer, incidentally to the
opening question is no. Although
everything else in life may just be
figments of our nonontological
imaginations, we, the Rice Rugby
club, know that Rugby is real; as real
as the bleeding cuts, the oozing
wounds, and the broken or bruised
wounds we all feel. Yes, my friends,
RUGBY IS REALITY.
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Raphael, Michael J. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 11, Ed. 1 Friday, November 6, 1987, newspaper, November 6, 1987; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245677/m1/16/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.