April 24, 2008
HOUSTON - - Quinchun Carey's battle back from a knee injury took another huge step forward Thursday night in Houston.
Carey, a senior jumper from Fort Worth, posted a regional-qualifying distance with a leap of 24 feet, 6.5 inches to lead the UT Arlington men's and women's track and field teams at the Rice Twilight Invitational. Carey was one of the nation's top long jumpers in 2004 and 2005 before a knee injury forced him to sit out last outdoor season.
Carey and Mavericks coach John Sauerhage weren't sure Carey would return with nearly the same power. But Carey is proving that he will be a force when the Southland Conference and, subsequently, the regional meet come around.
A former NCAA Track and Field Championships qualifier in the long jump, Carey's personal best is 25 feet, 11.75 inches.
The Mavericks had a few other top finishers at Rice as well.
Tim Thompson placed third in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.58, and 400-meter runners Eddie Beckwith and Takeshi Fujiwara finished second and fifth, respectively, in that event. Beckwith has already qualified for regionals in the 400.
On the women's side, Kimberly Strong had a good showing in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:05.60, and Carranda Mose finished fifth in the 800 with a time of 2:17.80. A time of 4:46.48 in the 1,500 meters was good enough for seventh place by Caroline Erlingson.
