University of Houston Athletics
Houston Travels To Austin To Compete In The Texas Relays
4/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
April 2, 2003
Houston, Texas - Houston Travels To Texas Relays
The University of Houston men's and women's track and field teams will travel to Austin, Texas and compete in the Texas Relays at Mike Myers Stadium on April 2-5. More than 5,000 high school, collegiate and professional athletes are scheduled to compete in what has become on of the nation's largest track and field events. This will be the first of two trips to Austin Houston has scheduled this year. The Cougars also will compete in the Texas Invitational on May 3.
Houston Among National Elite
Houston's men's and women's 4x100-meter relay teams, along with the women's 4x400-meter relay team and three individuals are ranked among the top competitors on this week's national performance list.
The men's 4x100-meter relay team of Brandon Womack, Fred Day, Preston Perry and Robert Foster enters the Texas Relays with the nation's best time of 39.70, which the Cougars recorded last week at the Tom Tellez Invitational.
The women's 4x-100-meter relay team of Lauren Smith, Courtnie Ratliff, Ebonie Floyd and Aisha Morgan is fifth-nationally with a time of 44.66 seconds. Houston's 4x400-meter relay tandem of Smith, Alicia Cave, Floyd and Courtnie Ratliff combined for a time of 3:39.29 in winning the TSU Relays on March 22.
Individually, Aisha Morgan's winning time of 11.65 seconds at the Tom Tellez Invitational is ranked eighth among this week's national leaders. Alicia Cave recorded the sixth-fastest time in the 400-meter hurdles with 59.42 seconds in the prelims at the TSU Relays on March 21. She also is among the nation's top 14 sprint hurdlers with a time of 13.79 seconds. Her teammate, Lauren Smith, ranks eighth nationally in the 100-meter hurdles with a time 11.65 seconds at the Tellez Invitational on March 29.
Last Week
Houston enters the Texas Relays after winning both the men's and women's team championships at the Tom Tellez Invitational on March 29 at the Carl Lewis/Tom Tellez Track and Field Complex on the UH campus.
The Lady Cougars won five individual championships and 1 relay. Houston also recorded three second-place finishes and three third-place finishes in the women's events. In the men's division, Houston also won three running events, three field events and a relay race.
Aisha Morgan won the 100 meters with a legal time of 11.65 seconds, while Renee Clarke won the 400 meters in 55.41 seconds, Kelly McCarty won the 3,000 meters with a time of 10:06.63, Lauren Smith won the 100-meter hurdles in a wind-aided time of 13.53 seconds and Jessica Edwards tied for first place in the pole vault with a mark of 10'8".
Houston also won the women's 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:46.89 and was runner-up in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 44.66 seconds. TCU won the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 44.65 seconds.
Senior Briana Bassler was the runner-up in the long jump with a wind-aided leap of 18'8". Nichole Brundage also finished second in the high jump with a mark of 5'5". Alicia Cave finished in third place in the 100-meter hurdles with a wind-aided time of 13.79 seconds, while Tinisha Wesley was third in the shot put with a heave of 44' _" and Shayla Bowman was third in the hammer with a throw of 154'7".
The Cougars had the top two runners in the 100-meter dash and 110-meter hurdles. Robert Foster won the 100-meters in a wind-aided time of 10.18 seconds, while Fred Day was the runner up with a wind-aided time of 10.34 seconds.
Milton Manson won the 110-meter hurdles and Andrew Carruthers was the runner-up with a windy time of 10.34 seconds. Preston Perry tied for the 200-meter dash title with a manual time of 21.2 seconds, while Houston won the 4x100-meter relay in 39.70 seconds.
In the field events, Jason Edwards won the long jump with a leap of 24' 1", while Derek Randall had the best discus throw with a mark of 191' and Jacob Rodriguez won the hammer throw in 144'9" and finished in third place in the shot put with a mark of 51' 7".
Houston at 2002 Texas Relays
Houston won two events at the 2002 Texas Relays, and was the runners-up in two others. Julie Perez won the women's steeplechase with a time of 10:53.62, while Jessica Oakes finished third in the race with a time of 10:58.84. Houston also won the women's 4x100-meter invitational relay with a time of 45.59 seconds.
In addition, Krystal Ward was the runner-up in the heptathlon with 5,286 points and Jason Banes finished second in the men's 10,000 meter run with a time of 31:37.83. Heather Howse registered a fifth-place finish in the women's 10,000-meter run, Alicia Cave was fifth in the women's 400-meter hurdles, Milton Manson was fifth in the 110-meter hurdles, Jasmin Jackson was fifth in the long jump and Adam Callahan was fifth in decathlon.
Houston at NCAA Indoor Championships
Robert Foster closed out his indoor career earning All-American honors and setting a new school record when he placed fifth in the 200 meters with a school-record time of 20.82 seconds at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.. Foster's time eclipsed1988 Olympic Gold Medalist Joe DeLoach's time of 20.98 seconds in the event.
The Lady Cougar women's 4x400-meter relay team of Ebony Floyd, Lauren Smith, Renee Clarke and Courtnie Ratliff, finished in 10th place with a time of 3:39.21. In addition, sophomore Stanford Routt had prelim times of 6.77 seconds in the 60 meters and 21.38 seconds in the 200 meters.
Houston Wins Conference USA Men's and Women's Indoor Championships
For the first time since 1998, Houston won both the Conference USA men's and women's track and field team championships on February 28-March 1 in Houston. The Cougars claimed their fifth C-USA crown overall and first title since 2001 by edging second-place TCU, 155 points ot 140.5 points.
The Lady Cougars won their second straight championship and third indoor title since 1998 by squeaking past South Florida, 135.5 points to 131. Houston won the women's 4x400-meter relay to clinch the championship.
Houston head coach Leroy Burrell was named C-USA's men's and women's Coach-of-the-Year, while freshmen Clayton Cretors and Ebonie Floyd each were named C-USA Male and Female Freshman of the Year, respectively. It marks the third time overall Burrell has been named the men's Coach-of-the-Year and second straight year he has been named women's Coach-of-the-Year.
C-USA Individual Indoor Champions
Houston won 10 individual championships at the 2003 C-USA Indoor meet. Krystal Ward won the women's high jump after clearing a personal-best 5' 7.75", and Robert Foster won the 200 meters for the third time in four years with a time of 21.20 seconds. Ebonie Floyd won the 200 meters with a career-best time of 24.19 seconds, while Magenta Taylor won the 60-meter hurdles for the first time in her career with a time of 8.45 seconds to beat teammate and defending champion Lauren Smith, who finished second with a time of 8.49 seconds. Alicia Cave rounded out Houston's scoring in the hurdles with a fourth-place finish (8.65 seconds).
The Cougars scored 27 points in the men's pole vault, with Daniel Patton, Alex Cantu and Kevin Watson finishing1-2-3, respectively. Patton won his second-straight C-USA indoor pole vault title after matching his career-best clearance, 5.0 meters (16'4.75"). Houston also had the top two competitors in the men's heptathlon, Ron Veillon and Clayton Cretors. Veillon won the event as he surpassed Cretors in the final event, the 1,000-meter run.
Players Mentioned
