University of Houston Athletics
Issac Williams Qualifies for 110m Hurdles Semis
7/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Eugene, Ore. -- Houston Cougar Track & Field senior Issac Williams moved one step closer to an Olympic dream and advanced to the semifinal round of the 110-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Friday, in Eugene, Ore.
Williams was the only Cougar in action on Saturday, competing in heat one of the first round of the 110 hurdles. The Willingboro, N.J., native crossed the line in 13.63 to finish second in his heat and earn the automatic qualifying bid. Williams' fifth fastest overall time guarantees him a spot in Saturday's semifinal at 6:25 p.m., where the top-2 athletes from each of the three heats, plus the next two fastest times will advance to the final at 7:52 p.m.
Williams will be joined by Houston Track and Field alumnus Chris Carter, who qualified for the finals of the men's triple jump on Thursday. Carter entered the event entered ranked No. 5 in the nation with a mark of 56-2 (17.12m) and qualified seventh overall after jumping a wind-aided 54-6.5 (16.62m) in his final attempt of the first round. Carter will be back on the runway for the finals at 6:15 p.m., Saturday, where the top-3 finishers will book their trip to the XXX1 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Senior LeShon Collins was also in action on Thursday for his second event of the trials, competing in the 200-meter dash. Collins finished in 25.16 to place 36th overall in the race around the curve. The Newark, Del., native also ran in the 100-meter dash last week where he finished 31st in 10.41.
Houston opened last Saturday's competition with Jack Thomas on the runway for the men's javelin, where he finished the event 20th after throwing 213-8 (65.14m) on his opening throw. Cameron Burrell competed in the first round of the 100, finishing in 10.18, to place 25th.
Incoming freshman Samiyah Samuels competed on the opening day of the trials in the women's long jump. Samuels, who will be a freshman for the Cougars next season and was impressive on the national stage after collecting a top mark of 20-3.75 (6.19m) to finish 17th. The leap for Samuels would have given her the second best mark in The American Athletic Conference this season.
FOLLOW ALONG LIVE
Live results for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials will be provided live via Flash Results. Results can be found by visiting FlashResults.com and following the appropriate links, or by clicking HERE.
Live video of the U.S. Trials will be provided via USATF.TV and NBCSports.com. For the USATF broadcast fans can click HERE, while the NBC Sports Broadcast can be found at this LINK.
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
