University of Houston Athletics
Issac Williams Named The American AOTW
2/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Providence, R.I. â€" For the second time this season, senior hurdler Issac Williams has been named The American Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Week, after winning the 60-meter hurdles at the Arkansas Qualifier, the conference announced Tuesday.
Competing in two separate events on the weekend, Williams opened the meet by running 7.79 in the hurdles to claim victory. William's time improved his already second-best time in The American Athletic Conference and moved him to No. 21 in the NCAA this season.
Later in the afternoon, Williams turned his sights on the 200-meter dash at the Arkansas qualifier. The Willingboro, N.J. native would go on to place second after posting a 21.36 which stands as the third fastest time in the American Conference.
The award for the All-American marks the seventh time in his storied career, and the second time this season, that Williams has earned American Athlete of the Week honors. Williams claimed the honor on Feb 2, and won the award four times (Jan. 13, Feb. 3, March 31, and April 21) during his junior campaign, while also earning the prize on April 22, 2014.
For Houston, Williams' award now marks fourth time the Cougars have claimed The American Male Track Athlete of the Week honors. Along with Williams' award on Feb. 2, junior sprinter Cameron Burrell earned the award on Jan. 19, after posting the top mark in the world at the time in the 60, while junior distance runner Brian Barraza took home the accolade a week later on Jan. 26 after posting The American's top time in the 3000-meters at the Rod McCravy Memorial Invitational.
NATIONALLY RANKED SIGNING CLASS
The Cougars made noise throughout the entire offseason when the men's signing class was ranked as the No. 2 class in the nation by Flotrack last July. The current freshmen on campus are led by three incoming student-athletes on the MileSplit All-American team. Marcus McWilliams (110m hurdles), Gerald Mills (200m) and John Lewis III (100m) all earned All-America honors, while distance runner Jahnavi Schneider was named as the No. 3 cross country recruit in the state of Texas by TxRunning.com.
UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
Houston heads to The American Championships, Feb. 28-29 in Birmingham, Ala. The Houston men will look to defend their 2015 indoor title while the Houston women are primed to improve on last year's seventh-place finish.
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Players Mentioned
