University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
C-USA Indoor Championships
Cougar Women Capture Second Straight Indoor Crown
2/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Feb. 25, 2006
Agate | Complete Results (PDF)
Houston, Texas - For the second consecutive season and the fourth time in the last five years, the University of Houston women's indoor track and field team captured the Conference USA Indoor Track and Field title with a come-from-behind victory Saturday in the Yeoman Field House on the UH campus.
Houston slipped past Rice, 141.5-126, after trailing the Owls after Friday's events. UH head coach Leroy Burrell picked up the Conference USA Women's Indoor Coach of the Year for the third time.
The men's squad came up short in its quest to repeat, as league newcomer UTEP out-pointed the Cougars, 167-153, to snap UH's three-year reign as conference indoor champs.
Junior Caresir Hamilton's first-place performance in the triple jump gave the Cougars the advantage they would need to hold off Rice. Hamilton jumped 41-3.75, while junior Kelli Williams leaped 38-6.75 to capture eighth.
Rice sliced into the lead with a 27-point performance in the 3000-meters, but the Cougars' first-place finish (3:43.05) in the 4x400-meter relay cemented the two-day victory.
In the women's high jump, which was the first field event of the day, the Cougars picked up 10 points to keep pace with Rice, the Day One leader. With a clearance of 5-10, Hamilton took second place, while junior Rachel Easley, winner of yesterday's pentathlon, cleared 5-4.25 for seventh.
The 60-meter hurdles provided a big boost for the women's team. Houston took second, third, fifth and eighth to wrap up 19 points in this event. Freshman Seun Adigun clocked 8.40 for second place, followed by another freshman, Alexis Rogers, in third with a time of 8.49. Freshman LeeA'ndrea Robinson finished fifth (8.73), and Easley took eighth (8.98).
Houston followed this performance with an impressive effort in the 400 meters. The senior trifecta of Keisha Howard, Cheryl Garner and Tiffany Abney finished first, second and seventh in the finals. Howard clocked 55.09, while Garner, the defending champion, recorded 55.15 and Abney finished in 56.42. UH secured 20 points in the process.
The sprints boded well once again for the UH women's squad, as the Cougars profited from a point-grabbing performance in the 60 meters. Junior LaDedra Guy snared second place at 7.45, just one hundredth of a point behind the winner, UTEP's Oludamola Osayomi. Continuing her comeback from a two-year absence, junior Ebonie Floyd clocked a 7.54 to finish in sixth.
Just 40 minutes later the Cougars increased their lead with a dominating finish in the 200 meters. Floyd, the 2003 Conference USA Freshman of the Year, led a one-two-three finish, posting a provisional qualifying time of 24.07. Guy took second with a 24.19, while Garner, the defending champion, finished third in 24.50. Howard completed the UH run with a seventh-place timing of 25.02.
Sophomore decathlete Jarrett Flax started off the morning by taking second place in the heptathlon with 4610 points and grabbing eight team points in the process. Despite a hamstring injury, freshman Morgan Floyd grabbed fifth in the seven events.
Later in the morning freshman Jeremy Kelley posted a triple-jump leap of 47-8 to take fifth place. The Cougars might have picked up additional points in this event, but junior Vincent Marshall, the defending champion, scratched with a sore knee.
The Houston men snared nine points in the mile, with seniors Sesar Figueroa and Calum Neff placing in the top eight. Figueroa finished third with a time of 4:12.08, while Neff took sixth with his time of 4:19.24. With a pair of sixth-place finishes in the shot put (senior Lucas Mirales, 51-3.5) and 60-meter hurdles (freshman Kendal Daugherty, 8.46), the Cougars picked up six points.
Junior Carey LaCour captured the men's first title of the meet, when he took the 400-meter crown with a time of 47.31. Freshman Justin McQueen grabbed third place with his clocking of 48.44, while sophomore Kolee Latson finished in fifth with a time of 48.75. LaCour's time provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Indoor Championships in two weeks.
In the men's 60 meters, senior Preston Perry took second with a time of 6.75, just a shade off the winning time of 6.72 posted by UTEP's Churandy Martina. Marshall finished in fourth at 6.89, while sophomore Tremaine Smith clocked a 6.93 to finish in sixth place. Junior Chris White took fifth in the 800 meters in 1:54.88.
The Cougars continued their sprinting dominance, as LaCour captured his second title on the afternoon, winning the 200 meters and provisionally qualifying with a time of 21.31. UH also picked up points with Perry's second-place showing (21.57), as well as sixth-place showing by Latson (22.25) and a seventh-place finish by Smith (22.57).
In its final field event of the meet, Houston was able to pick up 18 points to close the gap with UTEP. Senior Kevin Watson vaulted 15-3.00 to claim second place, and Tom Rusteberg, also a senior, cleared 15-3.00 for third place. Flax returned from the heptathlon to register a fifth-place showing at 14-7.25.
Players Mentioned
