University of Houston Athletics
Brian Barraza Named Athlete of the Week
4/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Providence, R.I. â€" Just days after breaking Olympian Al Lawrence's 56-year old record in the 10,000-meter run, junior distance runner Brian Barraza has been named the American Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.
Competing in his first 10K of his career on the outdoor circuit, Barraza finished in 29:04.11 to place 12th overall and fourth among collegiate competitors. The El Paso, Texas, native's time shattered Lawrence's previous mark of 29:36.40 set in 1960. Barraza's mark places him ninth on the NCAA national list this season.
The school record for Barraza marks the fourth time his name has been etched in the history books, after previously setting program bests in the indoor and outdoor 5,000-meter runs as well as the indoor 3,000-meter run. The award is the second of its kind for Barraza this season after previously being named Indoor Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 26.
For Houston, Barraza's award if the fourth of the outdoor season, after LeShon Collins and Selena Sierra swept the men's and women's award on March 29. Freshman Mario Burke opened the outdoor season claiming the honor following the UTSA Invitational, and the Cougars have now won seven American Male Track Athlete of the Week honors after winning four during the indoor slate.
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.
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 are on the road for Waco, Texas, where they will compete in the Baylor Invitational at the Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium on Saturday, April 9. The single day event will begin at 11 a.m., with the men's hammer throw and women's javelin, while the 3,000-meter steeplechase will kick off running events at 3 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
