HOUSTON - The University of Hawai`i women's outdoor track and field team came in sixth place at the Rice University Bayou Classic this past weekend while qualifying two athletes for the NCAA regionals.

Novelle Murray (Fleetwood Park S.S.) broke the school mark in the hammer throw tossing the implement 40.65 meters (130'00"). The sophomore from Surrey, B.C., Canada, placed eighth overall in the event. Murray also finished in fourth place in the discus with a toss of 47.38m (155'05"), which qualified her for the regionals.

The leading point woman for UH was distance runner Dana Buchanan (Fellowes H.S.). The sophomore from Beachburg, Ontario, Canada, tallied 16 points finish in second place in both the 800m (2:09.86) and 1500m (4:31.78) runs. Her times in the two events now rank her third and fourth all-time in UH history, respectively. Buchanan's time in the 800m gave her a ticket to the regionals at the end of May.

UH has now qualified three -- Murray, Buchanan, and Tasha Monroe (long jump) -- for the NCAA regionals.

Robin McRobbie (Gloucester H.S.) and Jennifer Bell (Ontario Christian H.S.) had solid showings in the 5000m run. McRobbie, a senior from Ottawa, Ontario, took third overall crossing the finish line at 18:10.14. She shaved 42 seconds off her previous best time. Bell, a senior from Chino, Calif., finished in fourth overall with a time of 18:12.23. Bell knocked more than one minute off her all-time best time.

Freshman Kelly Young (Lisarow H.S.) came up big in the 400m hurdles (1:03.03), capturing second overall. The native of Lisarow, Australia, now ranks second all-time at Uh in the event.

Freshmen Monica Su (Thousand Oaks H.S.) and Marissa Gordon (Kaiser H.S.) finished strong in their respective events. Su came in eighth place in the 3000m Steeplechase (12:04.90), while Gordon was eighth in the 400m dash (1:01.14).

Tasha Monroe (Father Michael McGivney Catholic Academy) and Kelsey Smith (Marsing H.S.) placed in the finals in the long jump and javelin, respectively. Monroe was fifth with a jump of 5.69m (18'8"), while Smith's toss of 39.62m (130'00") was third overall.

The Rainbow Wahine finished with 61 points while Rice took home first-place honors with 130. Rounding out the Top 5 were Texas State (112), Sam Houston State (91), Stephen F. Austin (76), and Texas (72.5).