March 17, 2006

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Led by the strong performances of freshman sprinter Lekeisha Lawson and senior distance runner Katie Hughes, the UNLV women's track and field team got its outdoor season going on Friday, competing in the 38th annual Aztec Classic, hosted by San Diego State at the SDSU Sports Deck.

Lawson, a native of Victorville, Calif., won the 100 meters in a time of 12.13, crossing the finish line almost three-tenths of a second ahead of the field. The 100 was a strong event for the Rebels, who also had Laruen Johnson place fourth (12.48) and Tanesha Carr place ninth (12.65). Johnson also added a second-place finish in the 200, clocking a time of 25.50.

Hughes added a victory in the 5,000 meters for UNLV with the senior winning with a time of 19:24.51 while fellow distance runner Jennifer Shearer came in third in the 1,500 meters in a time of 5:01.23.

Away from the track the Rebels had three throwers finish in the top 10 in the hammer throw, with Monique Humphries taking fourth (143'-2.00"), Alayna Mills coming in sixth (137'-7.00") and Olivia Raya coming in 10th (118'-7.00")

This is the first meet of the outdoor season for head coach Barbara Ferrell-Edmonson's squad, which finished eighth in the Mountain West Conference indoor championships three weeks ago. The meet wraps up tomorrow.

UNLV is without the services of All-American sprinter Ashley Owens, who finished second in the 60 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships last weekend in Fayetteville, Ark. Owens narrowly missed winning the event, coming in second by three-thousandths of a second and her finished matched the highest placing for a Rebel sprinter and an NCAA meet. She will be taking this weekend off to rest.

Fans can get full results of the meet by clicking here.