University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
The American Outdoor Championships
Thompson, Martin Take Bronze at American Championships
5/12/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
HOUSTON â€" The Houston Cougar Men's and Women's Track and Field teams saw a pair of hammer throwers take podium finishes, while qualifying nine for Sunday's finals on the first day of the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, on Friday.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
May 12-14 | Carl Lewis Complex | Houston, Texas
Championship Central | Meet Schedule | Live Results
AMERICAN OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Individual tickets are on sale for the final two days of the American Athletic Conference Championships. Tickets start at just $6 for adults and $3 for seniors/youth.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting UHCougars.com/tickets or clicking HERE, or by calling 713-GO-COOGS (713-462-6647).
MARTIN'S RECORD SCORES BIG POINTS
Houston picked up its first points of the 2017 outdoor championships after sophomores Mikaila Martin and Taylor Scaife picked up personal bests in their final throws of Friday's hammer throw competition. Scaife qualified for the finals in fourth with a mark of 183-6 (55.93m), while Martin sat fifth at 182-2 (55.52m).
The standings stood the same heading into the sixth and final throw, however each Cougar would save their best for last. Martin pushed herself into third place when she broke her own school record with a throw of 195-0.0 (59.54m), passing her previous best of 190-8 (58.11m). Martin claimed bronze, falling just one-millimeter shy of second place.
Scaife's top throw traveled 193-11 (59.10m) to move her into fourth place and score five points for Houston. The Cougars tallied 11 total points in the event.
THOMPSON PODIUMS IN FINAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Senior Damon Thompson has been a staple for the Cougar throws program, and Friday night he found himself on the podium to open his final outdoor championship. Thompson qualified for the finals of the men's hammer throw on his third attempt when he threw 183-10 (56.04m). The school record holder in the indoor weight throw fell to fourth heading into the fifth throw, but launched the hammer 192-7 (58.71m) to move back onto the podium and claim bronze.
Thompson scored six points for the Cougars in their only finals event of the afternoon.
COUGARS LOAD 200-METER DASH FIELD
The men's 200-meter dash will play a key role in the Houston men's title hopes, and the Cougars took a step in the right direction by qualifying five student-athletes for Sunday's final. Junior Eli Hall broke the meet record and qualified with the fastest overall time when he crossed the line in 20.40.
Sophomore Jacarias Martin won his heat and earned an automatic qualifying berth by ranking second overall at 20.80, while Mario Burke qualified fourth, with the third fastest time, at 20.83. Junior Cameron Burrell (20.93) and sophomore John Lewis III (21.23) rounded out Houston's qualifiers by placing fifth and eighth respectively.
BETHEL QUALIFIES WITH TOP TIME
Freshman sprinter Brianne Bethel took home the honor of the top qualifier for Sunday's final in the women's 200-meter dash. Bethel, an IAAF World Championship qualifier for the Bahamas in the 4x100-meter relay, ran the No. 59 time in the NCAA this season when she crossed the line in 23.29.
HURDLERS PUNCH FINALS TICKET
Houston saw three hurdlers reach the finals of the 400-meter hurdles on Friday including freshman Birexus Hawkins who qualified second overall after posting a personal-best 59.59 to win the second heat.
In the men's edition of the race, Houston pushed two through to the final. Sophomore Amere Lattin will look to defend his 2016 championship in the event as he enters Sunday's race with the fastest overall time at 50.81, while sophomore Raymund Clarke qualified fifth in 53.17.
MULTI-ATHLETES WRAP GRUELING FIRST DAY
Friday's action opened with the first five events of the men's decathlon, and the first four events of the women's heptathlon. The Cougars entered four multi-athletes in the decathlon, and freshman Nate Mechler turned in the best day after winning both the 100- and 400-meter dash. Mechler ran 10.96 to win the 100 and set a new meet record in the 400 with a time of 48.60 en route to scoring 3,799 points on the first day.
Mechler finished the first five events with the fourth highest point total, while Christopher Morales ranks sixth with 3,450 points and Sebastian Russi sits ninth with 3,335 points.
Freshman Anna Larsson wrapped the first four events of the heptathlon in seventh place with 2,625 points. Larsson's top performance came in the high jump where she set a new personal best at 5-3.25 (1.61m) to finish second.
UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
The American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships resume Saturday with the men's decathlon at 12:30 p.m. The final three events of the women's heptathlon begin at 1:30 p.m., while individual events kick off at 3 p.m.
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Players Mentioned
