University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Louisville
Cougars Finish In Third Place At Conference USA Championships
5/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
May 11, 2002
Louisville, Ky.- - The University of Houston men's track and field team recorded a third-place finish at the 2002 Conference USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the Cougars had one individual champion and four second place finishes.
TCU won the team championship with 132 ? points, while Cincinnati finished in second place with 123 points. Houston scored 97 ? points and Charlotte was fourth with 79 points.
Houston's lone men's champion was freshman Andrew Carruthers, who won the 400-meter hurdles with a career-best time of 51.35 seconds. Carruthers overtook teammate Greg Christie in the final three meters as Christie finished in second place with 51.43 seconds.
Carruthers also had a fourth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.16 seconds.
Adam Callahan finished second in the men's high jump with a leap of 6' 10 ?" after finished second in the men's decathlon with 6,783 points.
Alex Cantu finished second in the men's pole vault with a mark of 15' 11", and Tom Rusteberg was fourth with the same height.
Houston also finished second in the 4x100-meter relay with a season-best time of 39.40 seconds.
In the women's division, Houston won its third Conference USA outdoor track and field championship in convincing fashion.
The Lady Cougars claimed seven individual titles and won the 4x400-meter relay to score 144 points. Marquette finished in second place with 119 points and South Florida was third with 85 ? points.
Houston's Leroy Burrell was named the C-USA Women's Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year after leading Houston to its third C-USA outdoor title. It also marks the second time the Lady Cougars have won the C-USA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the same year.
Houston's individual champions were Aisha Morgan, Courtnie Ratliff, Alicia Cave, Rhian Clarke, Jasmin Jackson and Krystal Ward.
Morgan won the 100-meter dash with a personal best 11.48 seconds despite finishing the race with a leg injury. She was forced to scratch from the 200-meter dash despite having the second-fastest time in the preliminaries on Friday.
Before winning the 100-meters, Morgan ran the anchor leg on Houston's 4x100-meter relay team that provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships and finished second with a time of 44.36. Houston's time is the nation's 11th-fastest time this year.
Jasmin Jackson, Courtnie Ratliff and Lauren Smith joined Morgan on the relay team.
Ratliff also won the 400-meter dash and set a meet record with a personal best time of 52.90 seconds. Her time provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championships and ranks 16th nationally.
Jackson won the women's long jump championship on Friday with a leap of 20 feet, 3 inches.
Freshman Alicia Cave was named the C-USA Women's Freshman of the Year after winning both hurdle championships. She won the 100-meter hurdles in 13.62 seconds after her teammate who entered the race as the favorite, Lauren Smith, tripped over a hurdle and finished seventh in the race. Cave also won the 400-meter hurdles with 58.77 seconds. Both of her times were personal bests.
Rhian Clarke also won her sixth indoor and outdoor pole vault championship as she tied her own meet record with a mark of 12 feet, 5 ?".
Krystal Ward also won the women's heptathlon with 5,193 points.
Houston capped off their championship by winning the 4x400-meter relay with a new meet record and provisional qualifying time of 3:37.73.
