The Rice University women’s track and field team recorded several top performances at the 43rd annual Victor Lopez Classic, held March 28 in Houston. The event took place at the Wendel D. Ley track, where athletes from Rice delivered standout results across multiple disciplines.
The competition was highlighted by Mckyla Van der Westhuizen’s winning javelin throw of 59.06 meters, which set the best mark in the nation for this season. Emily Harbach also made a notable collegiate debut by finishing second in the javelin with a throw of 52.65 meters. Julia Johannesdottir broke a school record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.41 seconds, narrowly surpassing the previous record set in 2007.
Josie Taylor and Alice Taylor both cleared heights of 1.77 meters to win the high jump event, marking the top clearance in their conference and tying for ninth best nationally this year. The Owls’ relay teams also performed well: Arayna Mickles, Petra Taylor, Sydney Freeman, and Barbora Malíková won the 4×400-meter relay with a time of 3:41.65—second fastest in their conference—and Freeman joined Mickles, Taylor, and Saniya Friendly to win the 4×100-meter relay.
Head Coach Jim Bevan said after the meet: “Wow, what a tremendous meet. I am so pleased with how we performed all around… You have to start the highlights with Mckyla, now leading the nation in javelin after a phenomenal 59-meter throw… What a duo that is going to be for us this season.” He continued: “You also have to highlight Julia for breaking Funmi Jimoh’s 100m hurdle school record today… Josie and Alice again got the job done in high jump… Our 4×400 was incredible… Also great races from Saniya and Barbora.” Bevan concluded by looking ahead: “Overall this was a great showing to see where we stack up across all events. I am looking forward to Texas Relays next weekend to see us go up against top competition in nation.”
Other notable finishes included Saniya Friendly placing second in both sprints (11.79 seconds) and Barbora Malíková winning her race (24 seconds) as well as solid placements across distance events and field competitions.
The Owls will travel next week for further competition at Texas Relays.
