Simpson-Sullivan, Taylor set meet records at C-USA championships
Over the weekend, the Rice women’s track and field team traveled to Birmingham, Alabama for the 2022 Conference USA Indoor Championships. The Owls closed out the two-day competition with a fifth place team finish, scoring a total of 59 points. Overall, head coach Jim Bevan said he was proud of how his team competed on the biggest stage they’ve competed on yet this season.
“I am very happy and proud of the efforts over the last two days,” Bevan said. “We had a number of outstanding, outstanding performances, highlighted by [four] victories, … three new Rice school records… along with one conference record and one national record.
The four individual first place finishes for the Owls started off with freshman Eliza Kraule in the pentathlon, with a personal best score of 3,981. In the field events, junior thrower Erna Gunnarsdottir defended her 2021 indoor shot put victory with a throw of 16.79m and freshman jumper Josie Taylor set a meet record with a high jump of 1.86m, the fifth highest mark in the NCAA this year.
Additionally, All-American sophomore thrower Tara Simpson-Sullivan placed first in women’s weight throw with a throw of 22.15m, breaking the C-USA championship record and her own Rice school record. After the meet, Simpson-Sullivan said she was grateful to compete considering she was almost sidelined with injury.
“I’m very grateful to have been able to compete at all,” Simpson-Sullivan said. “After suffering a foot injury, we weren’t sure whether I was going to compete at all. My winning distance was definitely a shock at the time but I always knew that I was capable of a big distance like 22.15m, it was just a matter of time.”
Simpson-Sullivan’s throw also set a British record, adding to the weekend’s accolades. Simpson-Sullivan said she’s thrilled with the record and hopes to use it to fuel her future performances.
“[The record] is a great motivator moving into the outdoor season where I hope to chase down the British record for the hammer too,” Simpson-Sullivan said.
On the running events side, the Owls distance medley relay team consisting of sophomores Alyssa Balandran, Taigen Hunter-Galivan, Caitlin Wosika, and junior Tanae Dorsett, placed third with a time of 11:40.08. Balandran added on to her DMR bronze medal by earning points for the Owls with a fourth place finish in the 800m with a PR of 2:10.80 and a leg of the 4x400m relay’s sixth place finish. After the meet, Bevan said he was pleased with how the DMR team and Balandran performed.
“[After the DMR], Caitlin and Taigen came back with scoring efforts in the mile,” Bevan said. “Alyssa Balandran [also] had a big [personal best] in the 800m, she was seeded seventh going in and finished fourth.”
The meet as a whole was a great environment to compete and represent Rice, according to Simpson-Sullivan who said she enjoys the team aspect of track and field.
“Overall, the team pulled out a really strong performance,” Simpson-Sullivan said. “I always enjoy watching the team compete at Conferences, as it’s a fun competitive environment. Plus, there’s that added excitement as you’re performing for points for the team, as well as times and distances for yourself.”
The team was without a two-time indoor track all-American in sophomore distance runner Grace Forbes, who wasn’t at full strength this indoor season and didn’t compete, according to the athletic department.
As a team, the Owls indoor season has come to an end. However, those who qualify will return to Birmingham to compete at the 2022 NCAA Track and Field Championships. The championships will take place on March 11-12 and be broadcast across various ESPN networks.
After that, the Owls will set out on their outdoor season, which is set to begin on March 17. The team will look to build off of their success in last outdoor season, in which they won seven individual golds, and placed second as a team at the conference championships. They also had three athletes receive first-team all-American honors last outdoor season.
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