University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
NCAA West Preliminary Round
Cougars Qualify Three More and Relay for Nationals
5/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Lawrence, Kan. â€" The Houston Cougar Men's and Women's Track & Field team followed up a successful first day at the NCAA West Regional by qualifying three more student-athletes and the men's 4x100-meter relay team, for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday, in Lawrence, Kan.
Individually, seniors LeShon Collins and Issac Williams booked their tickets to Eugene, Ore., the site of the 2016 National Championships, while freshman Amere Lattin qualified for the second consecutive day. All three athletes qualified within the top-12 of their respective events after the quarterfinal rounds were cancelled due to rain.
The Cougars opened the day in a big way in the men's 4x100. Houston entered with the fastest time in the west region this season at 38.95, which they ran to win the American Conference Championships earlier this month. The squad of Collins, Jacarias Martin, Mario Burke and Cameron Burrell did not disappoint, running 39.14 to qualify No. 1 overall for the NCAA Championships.
The hurdle duo of Williams and Lattin were on the track next for the Cougars, where Williams ran in heat two and Lattin in four. Williams ran 13.58 to win his heat and qualify No. 2 overall, while Lattin won his race in 13.88 to qualify 10th. For Williams, he returns to Eugene, where he took bronze in the event at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, while Lattin qualifies for his second event in Oregon after qualifying on time in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday.
Collins became Houston's sixth individual to qualify for an NCAA Championship event, when he competed in heat two of the 200-meter dash. Collins edged out Reggie Lewis of Arizona State by four-hundredths of a second, posting a 20.56 to qualify fifth overall. The trip to Eugene, will be Collins' first trip as an individual after making the outdoor championships as a member of the 4x100-meter relay squad in each of his first three seasons.
Collins and Williams will join Burrell, Lattin and Brian Bell at the NCAA Championships after the trio qualified in their respective events on Friday. Burrell ran the 100-meter dash in 10.21 to claim the No. 2 overall qualifying time, while Bell finished the 800-meters in 1:48.73 to place 10th.
The Cougars had a pair of women in action in the 200m after qualifying for the NCAA West Regional. Tori Williams finished 23rd after running 23.58, while Kelli Hardnett placed 34th in 23.87. On the men's side, Issac Williams, Martin and Curtis Brown were also in action in the 200, with Martin finishing 21st in 20.89, Brown finishing 28th in 21.13 and Williams running 21.21 to finish 29th.
Sophomore Tonyecia Burks made her second trip to the NCAA West Regional when she competed in the triple jump, in Lawrence. Burks jumped 41-2.5 (12.56m) on her second attempt to finish 23rd overall. Burks improved 18 spots from the 2015 regional, where she finished 41st.
A pair of Houston throwers completed action in the field with Felipe Valencia and Alex Garza competing in flight two of the shot put. Valencia finished fourth in the flight with a throw of 58-6.5 (17.84m) to place 24th overall, while Garza finished 41st at 55-1.5 (16.80m).
The Cougars wrapped up competition in the 4x400-meter relay where the men's team of Lattin, Burke, Bell, and Trumaine Jefferson finished 22nd in 3:13.63, while the women's team of Hardnett, Tori Williams, Mayorca Young and Mandy Nolan finished 24th in 3:42.80.
ABOUT THE 2016 NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships will be held at Heyward Field, in Eugene, Ore., the site of TrackTown USA. The championship event will be held Wednesday, June 8 through Saturday, June 11.
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.
FOLLOW THE COUGARS
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Players Mentioned
