University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Charlie Thomas Invitational
Barraza, Valencia Claim Titles in College Station
2/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Houston Results | Full Results
HOUSTON -- Junior distance runner Brian Barraza, and sophomore thrower Felipe Valencia each took home individual championships in their respective events as the Houston Cougar Men's and Women's track and field teams wrapped up day two of the Charlie Thomas Invitational, hosted by Texas A&M in College Station, on Saturday.
After an opening day that saw junior Selena Sierra break the women's 5000 meter record, the distance team did not disappoint as a follow up on day two. Barraza ran 4:04.42 in the men's mile to set a new personal record by over 4.5 seconds and win the event. Houston's distance squad finished with 15 new personal bests on Saturday.
In the throws, Valencia earned Houston it's second individual championship of the afternoon when he won the men's shot put. Valencia threw 58'0.5" (17.69m) on his second throw, and matched the distance again on his third throw to beat second place Gabriel Vargas by nearly two full feet.
Also in the throws senior weight thrower Damon Thompson finished third in the event after throwing 57'7.75" (17.57m), while Jose Herrera (47'8.5") and Mikaila Martin (41'2.5") set new personal records in the men's and women's shot put, and Maliya Evans landed a new best throw in the weight (46'10.75").
A pair of Houston sprinters finished with some of the top marks on the afternoon in the 60-meter dash. For the men, freshman John Lewis III finished seventh with a time of 6.91, while junior Bria Carter ran the women's 60 in 7.56 to finish seventh as well.
Senior Issac Williams continued to have an impressive season in the men's 60-meter hurdles. The American Athletic Conference's top competitor in the event finished third at the Charlie Thomas Invitational with a time of 7.97.
A trio of women's long jumpers had big days for the Cougars as sophomores Tonyecia Burks and Paige Lawrence, as well as freshman Felicienne Axel each turned in top-10 performances in the event. Burks finished fourth with a personal best 18'7.25" (5.67m) jump, while Axel finished sixth in 18'3.0" (5.56m) and Lawrence finished eighth in 17'9.75" (5.43m).
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
The Cougars head west to Albuquerque, N.M., to compete in the Don Kirby Elite Invitational hosted by the University of New Mexico. The 2-day meet is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 12 and Saturday, Feb. 13.
FOLLOW THE COUGARS
Fans can keep up with the latest in University of Houston Cougar athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonAthletics), Twitter (@UHCougars), Instagram (houstoncougars) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/UHAthletics). In addition, the Track and Field team has established its own official Facebook (facebook.com/HoustonCougarTrackandField) and Twitter pages ().
Players Mentioned
