University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Head across Town for Rice Meet
4/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
HOUSTON â€" The Houston Cougar Men's and Women's Track & Field teams return to the city of Houston for a one-day meet, the J. Fred Duckett Twilight Invitational, on Saturday, hosted by Rice. Meanwhile, three Cougars (two current, one alum), will represent their respective countries at the IAAF World Relay Championships in the Bahamas.
ABOUT THE J. FRED DUCKETT TWILIGHT INVITATIONAL
Houston, Texas | Wendell D. Ley Track Stadium | April 22
Meet Information | Meet Schedule | Heat Sheets | Live Results
ABOUT THE IAAF WORLD RELAYS
Nassau, Bahamas | T. Robinson Stadium | April 22-23
Meet Information | Meet Schedule & Results
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
A number of Cougars will be in action on Saturday and carry nationally ranked times into the competition.
Sophomore Cameron Prejean and freshman Sierra Smith hold two of the nation's fastest 100-meter dash times this season. Prejean, a triple jumper by trade, enters the men's race with the 60th fastest time in the NCAA at 10.41, while Smith will compete for the women with a season best of 11.52 which ranks 63rd.
Also in the sprints, sophomore Jacarias Martin makes his return to the 200-meter dash at the cross-town meet. Martin has a season best of 20.75 in the 200 which ranks him No. 27 nationally.
Houston had an exceptional final day at the Mt. SAC Relays, where both the men's 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays ran top-10 times nationally. The men will enter a 4x1 squad on Saturday, having posted a seasonal-best 38.59 (No. 2 in the NCAA), while the 4x4 squad's best time this season is 10th in the nation at a school-record 3:04.38.
Antwan Dickerson enters Saturday's long jump competition with the No. 61 mark in the nation this season. Dickerson jumped 24-5.0 (7.44m) at the Houston Alumni Invitational to finish second in the event.
A pair of Houston hammer throwers will also be in action at Rice. Senior Damon Thompson moved up the national list to 73rd after winning the hammer throw at the Long Beach Invitational with a top mark of 198-0 (60.36m). In the women's ring, sophomore Taylor Scaife climbed to No. 2 in school history and No. 93 in the NCAA after a top throw of 183-1 (55.80m) at the Mt. SAC Relays.
COUGARS COMPETING INTERNATIONALLY
The Cougars had three athletes qualify for the IAAF World Relays in Nassau, where each of their respective countries will compete for a shot at the IAAF World Championships in July. Sophomore Mario Burke, as well as, alum LeShon Collins will each compete in the men's 4x100-meter relay. Burke will represent Barbados, while Collins will run for the United States, on Saturday.
On Sunday, freshman Brianne Bethel will compete for her native country, the Bahamas, in the women's 4x100-meter relay. Each of the athletes and their countries will be competing for a trip to the IAAF World Championships where the top-8 teams from each relay will advance to London.
UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
The Cougars will split squad when some of the team will head to the 123rd running of the Penn Relays, while the remainder will travel to Austin, to compete at the Longhorn Invitational.
FOLLOW THE COUGARS
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Players Mentioned
