University of Houston Athletics
Four Cougars Headed to Indoor Championships
3/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
COLLEGE STATION, Texas â€" The 2016-17 indoor season has reached its final week, and the Houston Cougar Men's Track & Field team will send four student-athletes to the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas. The two day meet will be held Friday and Saturday at the Gilliam Indoor Stadium.
ABOUT THE NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Where: Gilliam Indoor Stadium | College Station, Texas | March 10 & 11
Schedule of Events | Meet Information
Houston will send a pair of student-athletes to compete in the 60-meter dash after senior Cameron Burrell and sophomore Mario Burke tied for the third fastest time in the NCAA this season at 6.59. The duo each ran their times in the finals of the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships, where Burke edged out Burrell for the win.
Burrell makes a return to the NCAA Championship just one year removed from a runner-up finish at the 2016 meet. Burrell broke the school record in the event, falling just one one-thousandth of a second shy of the gold after running 6.47. Burke will make his first appearance at the indoor championships.
Burrell will compete in the first heat of the event at 6:10 p.m., on Friday, while Burke will follow in heat two.
For the second-straight season, Houston qualified a student-athlete for the 60-meter hurdles, after sophomore Amere Lattin tied for the 10th best time during the season. The American Conference Champion in the event ran a personal-best 7.74 at the Tyson Invitational to reach the qualifying mark. Lattin will run his event at 7 p.m., on Friday.
Each of the straight-track races will consist of two heats of semifinal races. The top two finishers from each heat, plus the next four fastest times overall will qualify for Saturday's final.
Senior Brian Barraza will be the final Cougar in action over the weekend when he competes in the 3,000-meter run on Saturday. Barraza broke his own school record in the 3K when he ran 7:53.60 at the Husky Classic. Barraza became the first Cougar in program history to qualify for the indoor championship in an event longer than the 400-meter dash. He enters competition at nationals with the 14th best time in the NCAA this season and will run at 6:15 p.m., on Saturday.
Junior Eli Hall also qualified for the championship in each the 60- and 200-meter dash, however he will miss the meet due to an injury. Hall ran the 15th fastest time in the 60 at 6.65, while breaking the school record in the 200 at 20.71 to rank No. 11.
FOLLOW IT LIVE
Live video for each day of the NCAA Indoor Championships will be available courtesy of the NCAA. Video links for each day can be found by visiting the MEET INFORMATION page and following the appropriate links.
Live stats will also be available courtesy of FlashResults, and can be found by clicking HERE.
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Players Mentioned
