The Western Athletic Conference had four teams score at the NCAA Championships, held in Fayetteville, Ark., March 8-9. For the men, UTEP led the way taking 15th, while SMU tied for 23rd and Rice tied for 35th. For the women, Rice took fifth scoring 25 points.
UTEPs Aaron Egbele earned points in the 200-meter dash, placing fifth with a time of 20.90, his fastest this season. The other points for UTEP came from Adrian Ghioroaie in the triple jump, where he jumped 16.28m (53-5) for third place. For SMU, Janus Roberts took fourth and Andrey Borodkin took eighth in the shot put with tosses of 20.22m (66-4 ) and 19.00m (62-4), respectively. In the 3,000m, Dalibor Balgac placed seventh with a time of 8:05.51 for the Mustangs. SMUs distance medley was 11th, but it did not point. Rices six points came from Vaughn Walwyns third-place finish in the long jump, with a leap of 7.94m (26-0 ).
For the women, Rice came off their WAC Championship win, keeping stride to take fifth in the NCAA. Allison Beckford led the way for the Owls, placing first in the 400m with a time of 52.16, a new school and WAC record. Beckford also helped the 4x400 meter-relay take seventh, along with teammate Aimee Tetris, who placed in the 800m, taking fourth with a time of 2:06.51. Alice Falaiye scored in the long jump, with a distance of 6.28 (20-7 ).
Both the men and women start the outdoor season in the next few weeks. For more information on WAC Track and Field go to www.wacsports.com.