Jan. 30, 2001

Box Score

HOUSTON - Jenni Lopez and Michele Davis started their 2001 indoor track season on the right foot, picking up wins in the 200 and 5,000 meters, respectively, in the first meet of the season for the UNLV track and field team at the Southwest Indoor Classic on Saturday.

Lopez set a school record in the indoor 5,000 meters, clocking a 17:34.31 and winning her race by more than 30 seconds.

Davis captured the 200 with a winning mark of 24.28, just 0.03 seconds shy of an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. She also posted a second-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 53.33.

The two wins helped UNLV to a fourth-place overall finish in the team standings with 52.5 points. Texas won the meet with 126, followed by Rice (95) and Texas A&M (55).

Senior Katie Barto, who represented UNLV at the NCAA Cross Country Championships last November, was just three seconds too slow of a second record-breaking performance. She finished second in the 3,000 meters in 9:53.50.

Also representing the Rebels were sophomores Tiffany Smith, Belisa Suarez and Chantel Yates. Smith took fifth in the triple jump (36-7.75), and Yates finished eighth in the shot put with a mark of 37-11.5. Suarez did not post a legal mark in the triple jump.

Freshman Naomi Osborne made her indoor debut in the 800 meters, clocking 2:27.95.

The Rebels indoor season will continue this weekend at the Eastern Michigan Invitational in Ypsilanti, Mich., on Saturday, Feb. 3.