University of Houston Athletics
Collins, Sierra Named American Athletes OTW
3/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Providence, R.I. â€" Following an impressive weekend at the Victor Lopez Classic at Rice University, seniors Selena Sierra and LeShon Collins have been named as The American Athletic Conference Track Athletes of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.
Sierra opened the Victor Lopez with a win in the 3000-meter Steeplechase in Friday's portion of the meet. The school record holder in the indoor 5000-meters clocked the fourth best time in school history, and 13th fastest time in the nation in the steeple at 10:49.50 to claim the event en route to winning her first Female Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week award.
The following day would prove just as big for Collins, who began competition carrying the first leg of the 4x100-meter relay for the Cougars. The squad posted a season-best 39.66 to win the event and clock the fourth fastest time in the nation this season.
Shortly following the relay, Collins would go on to win the 100-meter dash in 10.36, crossing the line with the fourth fastest time in the nation this season. The 2016 Second Team Indoor All-American in the 60-meter dash claimed American Male Track Athlete of the Week honors for the second time in his career.
For Houston, Collins and Sierra's awards are the second and third of the outdoor season, after freshman Mario Burke claimed the honor following the UTSA Invitational, and is now the sixth time the Cougars have claimed The American Male Track Athlete of the Week honors after winning four during the indoor slate, while Sierra marks the first Female Track Athlete of the Week award.
Senior Issac Williams claimed the final award of the indoor season on Feb. 23 as well as on Feb. 2, while junior sprinter Cameron Burrell earned the award on Jan. 19, after posting the top mark in the world at the time in the 60-meter dash, and 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 will split up its squad for a pair of meets next weekend when some of the Cougars will head to Austin, Texas to compete in the Texas Relays, while the remainder of the team will compete in the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas. The relays will be held March 30-April 2, with the invitational running just the length of the latter two days.
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Players Mentioned
