The Rice University women’s track and field team won the American Conference Championship last weekend, claiming a team title as head coach Jim Bevan nears the end of his 40th year in coaching.
The Owls secured the program’s 24th conference championship and the 14th under Bevan, providing the longtime coach with one of the most meaningful moments of his career.
“This is honestly a surreal moment,” Bevan said. “I am so proud to be the coach of this team and to have been the head coach of the Rice Owls for the last 20 years. This is truly like a fairytale ending.”
Bevan, who was also named the American Conference Coach of the Year for the 15th time, credited his team’s resilience and determination across the three-day meet.
“I am so proud of the effort these athletes displayed this weekend,” he said. “This meet had a lot of questions coming in, but we showed up and performed with tremendous heart all three days.”
Rice’s title was built on a series of strong performances across several events, including a win in the triple jump by Savannah Simms in her return from injury, a dominant showing in the 400 meters led by Barbora Malíková and a meet-clinching effort from the 4x400 relay team.
The Owls also made program history by sweeping the heptathlon podium, while Mckyla Van der Westhuizen added a record-setting performance in the javelin to secure her third consecutive conference title.
Bevan pointed to several athletes who overcame adversity as emblematic of the team’s effort, including Simms and Laura Duckhorn, who returned from a recent injury to earn a podium finish in the heptathlon, as well as Josie Taylor, who scored points in the high jump.
“Savannah Simms hasn’t jumped since January and in just a month’s training wins the triple jump and qualifies for NCAA regionals,” Bevan said. “Laura Duckhorn battled back from injury and reached the podium, and Josie Taylor showed real courage coming back to compete this season. I’m incredibly proud of all of them.”
He also emphasized the role of his coaching staff in sustaining the program’s success over decades.
“I have to thank my staff — Andrea, Cutter, Brek and Taigen,” Bevan said. “They deserve all the credit for what we are able to accomplish. I wouldn’t have nearly the amount of success without them.”
Regional qualifiers for the NCAA West Preliminaries will be announced this week.