University of Houston Athletics
Amere Lattin Qualifies for World Juniors
6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Clovis, Calif. â€" Hurdler Amere Lattin punched his ticket to the 2016 World Junior Track & Field Championships, while Brian Bell reached the finals on the first day of the 2016 USATF Junior Championships on Friday.
Running with a shorter hurdle than he competes with in the collegiate season, Lattin ran 13.39 in the prelims of the 110-meter hurdles to book a spot in the finals with the second fastest time. Just hours later, Lattin would again place second in the finals with a better mark at 13.32. The second place finish along with a mark under the world standard (14.20) gives Lattin the opportunity to compete for Team USA at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
The next event for the Cougars, the 800-meters, featured Bell in heat two and his teammate Cameron Laverty in heat three. Bell collected the top time in his heat in 1:49.43 to qualify second overall for the final, while Laverty finished 15th in 1:58.65. The 800 final will be held Saturday at 10:10 p.m., and Bell will need a top-2 finish to qualify for worlds after already besting the standard of 1:49.50.
Alongside Bell on Saturday, Lattin will also be back on the track for the preliminary round of the 400-meter hurdles at 8:10 p.m. Mikaila Martin will be the final Cougar in competition on Saturday when she throws the hammer at 8:30 p.m.
Nora Monie wrapped the action on the first day of the USATF Juniors. Competing in the discus, Monie used her second throw to tally a mark of 161-9 (49.30m) to finish ninth.
Freshman sprinter Mario Burke was also in action on Friday, competing at the 2016 Barbadian National Championships in Waterford, St. Michael, Barbados. Burke clocked a 10.42 to qualify second overall and book his spot in the semifinals on Saturday.
CATCH IT LIVE
Live video coverage of the USATF Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be provided courtesy of USATF.TV. To access the video feed, fans can visit USATF.tv and follow the appropriate links, or they can reach the direct link by clicking HERE. A paid subscription is required to view the content.
Live stats will also be available courtesy of RecordTiming.com. Up to the minute results can be found by clicking HERE.
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.
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