University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Houston Invitational
Wesley, Cantu, and Figueroa Lead Cougars at Houston Invitational
4/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
April 18, 2003
Houston, Texas-- - In the first javelin competition of her track and field career, University of sophomore thrower Tinisha Wesley recorded a second-place finish in the javelin on the first day of the Houston Invitational Track and Field Meet.
Wesley, a former state shot put champion from Klein High School in Spring, had her best throw of the day in the fifth round with a mark of 123' 8".
"This was the first time that I have thrown the javelin in a meet," Wesley said. "I did play shortstop on my high school softball team and you have to have a strong arm to play that position. So, I thought 'Why not try to throw the javelin.'"
In addition to throwing the javelin, Wesley also competes in the shot put and discus throw for the Lady Cougars. She qualified to compete in the shot put at the NCAA Midwest Regional last weekend when she recorded a career-best effort of 46' 1 1/2" at the LSU Alumni Gold Invitational in Baton Rouge. She also registered her season-best throw of 147' 8" last weekend when she finished in third place at the LSU Alumni Gold Invitational.
Wesley took over the lead in the javelin until South Florida's Andrea Armstrong won the event with a mark of 132' 3" on the last throw of the day.
Alex Cantu and Sesar Figueroa also had second-place finishes in the men's pole vault and men's 5,000-meter run, respectively. Cantu equaled his season-best vault of 15'1". South Florida's Jonathan Miller won the men's pole vault with a mark of 17'.
Figueroa led throughout most of the men's 5000-meter race before South Florida's Adam Chumbley overtook him in the final 800 meters. Chumbley won the race in 14:53.000, and finished ahead of Figueroa's time of 14:55.62.
Former Cougar All-American and six-time Conference USA champion Rhian Clarke won the women's pole vault with a mark of 12' 9". Betsy Matson of South Florida was second with a vault of 11' 5 3/4", while Houston's Jessica Edwards was third with a time of 10' 11 3/4".
Christina Benton of South Florida won the women's 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:55.11 to edge her teammate Jessica Hellender, who finished the race in 10:08.42. Houston's Shawna Florida finished in third place with a time of 10:15.42.
Xavier Tison, who was competing unattached, won the men's hammer with a throw of 220' 4", while Robert Finnel of South Florida was second with a mark of 152' 5". Houston's Jacob Rodriguez was third with a throw of 146' 1".
Dyanna Octavien of South Florida won the women's hammer throw with a mark of 169' 7", while Teresa Crimson of Rice finished in second place with a throw of 159' 9".
Players Mentioned
