University of Houston Athletics
Valencia to Represent Mexico at NACAC
7/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
San Salvador, El Salvador. -- Sophomore thrower Felipe Valencia will continue the championship season for the Houston Cougar Track & Field team when he represents team Mexico at the IX North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletics Association (NACAC) U23 Championships on Sunday, July 17 at Estadio Nacional Jorge "Magico" Gonzalez.
Valencia will compete in the first round of the men's shot put at 11 a.m., on Sunday in San Salvador, El Salvador with the finals to follow. A complete schedule of events for the NACAC Championships can be found by clicking HERE.
Valencia earned his chance to compete at the NACAC U23 Championships when he placed third at the Mexican Federation of Association of Athletics, National Athletics Championships and Under 23 on June 4. While competing at the national event, Valencia threw 57-7.75 (17.57m) to finish as the top under-23 Mexican shot put athlete and book his trip to El Salvador.
Valencia turned in an impressive sophomore season that saw him claim the 2016 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship in the shot put, and a runner-up finish at the outdoor championships. The Mission, Texas native's top mark of 59-11.75 (18.28m) at the Carolyn & Ron Yokubaitis Invitational, was enough to book trips into the 2016 NCAA West Regional as well as the Mexican National Championships for Valencia.
The NACAC features 31 members including Mexico, as well as track and field powerhouses The United States and Jamaica, as well as three Associated NACAC Members. At the NACAC U23 Championships in 2015, Cougar long jumper Cameron Burrell won the event with a mark of 26-5.25 (8.06m)
LIVE RESULTS
Results will be posted via the NACAC website AthleticsNACAC.org or can be found by clicking HERE. The IX NACAC U23 Championship officially begin Friday, July 15 at 3:30 p.m.
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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Players Mentioned
