University of Houston Athletics
Houston Primed for International Spotlight
6/21/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
HOUSTON â€" Seven Houston Cougar Track & Field athletes are set to compete on the biggest stage for their respective countries at three separate National Championship meets this weekend.
Current student-athletes Cameron Burrell, Brian Barraza, Eli Hall and Amere Lattin will be joined by alum LeShon Collins at the USATF National Championships in Sacramento, Calif., while sophomore Mario Burke will enter the Barbados Meet in Waterford, St. Michael, and freshman Brianne Bethel will head to Freeport, Bahamas, to compete in the Bahamas Senior National Championships.
Burke will run in each of the 100- and 200-meter dashes in Barbados. The sophomore will open with the 100 at 8 p.m., Friday before competing in the 200 at 4:40 p.m., Sunday. Burke set his top time in the 100 with a 10.19 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, while his top time in the 200 of 20.83 earned him a silver medal at The American Championships.
Bethel will also compete in each of the 100- and 200-meter dashes on Friday and Saturday, with the preliminary rounds for each race beginning at 8:15 p.m., and 9:30 p.m., respectively. Bethel ran a career-best 11.40 in the 100 to claim silver at The American Championships, while running 23.47 at the Tom Tellez Invitational to set her 200-meter mark.
Junior Cameron Burrell and alum LeShon Collins will open competition for Houston with the first round of the 100-meter dash at 8:35 p.m., Thursday. Burrell set his top time of 9.93 to break the school record and earn a runner-up finish at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships earlier this month. Collins, representing Team Perfect Method, ran 10.11 at the Penn Relays in April.
Redshirt senior Brian Barraza joins the action when he competes unattached in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at 7:45 p.m., Friday. Barraza enters with the 15th fastest time in the competition at 8:32.48 which he posted at the J. Fred Duckett Twilight at Rice in just his third attempt at the event.
Sophomore Amere Lattin hits the hurdles for the first time since the NCAA Championships when he competes in the 110-meter hurdles at 1:20 p.m., Saturday. Lattin posted a season-best 13.79 at the Texas Relays earlier this season to reach the qualifying mark.
Junior Eli Hall returns to action when he competes in the first round of the 200-meter dash at 1:48 p.m., Saturday. Hall posted his top wind-legal time of 20.40 in the half-lap race to qualify for the finals of the American Athletic Conference Championships. Hall would go on to run a wind-aided 19.96 to win the event.
The sprint and hurdle races consist of three rounds each. The top three athletes plus the next four fastest times in the first round advance to the semifinals, where the top four from each semifinal heat advance to the final.
For Barraza's steeplechase race, the top four times in each heat plus the next six fastest times advance to the final.
The top three athletes from each final will advance to the IAAF World Championships in August provided they have met the qualifying standard for the world meet.
Burke's 100-meter journey will consist of three rounds, while the 200-meter event will have two races. The top two athletes after each event of the Barbadian finals will qualify for the IAAF World Championships.
ALREADY THERE
Collins, Burke and Bethel have each already punched a ticket to the IAAF World Championships for their efforts at the IAAF World Relays earlier this season. Collins helped lead team USA to a victory in the 4x100-meter relay, while Burke's Barbadian team took silver.
The following day, Bethel helped the Bahamas to a sixth place finish in the women's 4x100-meter relay.
The top-8 finishers at the IAAF World Relays earned automatic qualifying bids to the World Championships in August.
SEE IT LIVE
Live action of the 2017 USATF Outdoor Championships will be available for three of the four days of competition. Friday's action will air on NBCSN from 9:30-11:30 p.m., while NBC will hold coverage of Saturday and Sunday's competition from 3-5 p.m., each day.
Live results for the USATF national meet will also be available and can be found by clicking HERE.
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Players Mentioned
