University of Houston Athletics
Houston Heads to Rice Victor Lopez Classic
3/22/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
HOUSTON â€" The Houston Cougar Men's and Women's Track & Field teams continue the outdoor season, with a short trip across town, to compete at the Victor Lopez Classic, hosted by Rice, across March 23-24.
Houston will also send its No. 1 ranked men's 4x100-meter relay group to the Prairie View A&M Relays, where they will compete against two squads representing Team USA.
ABOUT THE VICTOR LOPEZ CLASSIC
The Victor Lopez Classic is a two-day event for collegiate athletes, which will begin at 9:30 a.m., Friday with the hammer throw. Running events on the first day begin at 7:10 p.m., with the men's 1,500-meter run.
On Saturday, the conclusion of the meet begins in the field with the men's shot put, women's discus and men's and women's long jump at 11 a.m. Preliminary running events start at noon with the 'B' Section of the 110-meter hurdles, while the running finals kick off at 5:30 p.m., with the men's 4x100-meter relay.
A day of high school action will be held at the Victor Lopez Classic on Thursday.
Live results for the Victor Lopez Classic will be made available courtesy of Spato Timing and can be found by clicking HERE.
A full schedule for the Victor Lopez Classic can be found by clicking HERE.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Senior Brian Barraza officially returns to action for Houston on Friday, where he will compete for the first time as a Cougar in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. While competing unattached and redshirting in 2017, Barraza ran the steeplechase in 8:32.48, which qualified him for a berth at the USATF Championships, and is the fastest returning time entering the 2018 collegiate season.
Junior Felipe Valencia will also be in action on Friday, in a loaded field of the men's hammer throw. Valencia has the 59th-best mark in the NCAA through the early season at 180-2 (54.91m).
Valencia will return to action on Saturday for the shot put, where the Cougars have three athletes on the men's and women's side who are ranked among the nation's best. Senior Cameron Cornelius holds the 52nd-best mark in the NCAA this season on the men's side at 53-7.0 (16.33m), while on the women's side, Nora Monie's season-best of 49-5.75 (15.08m) ranks 21st overall, while Priscilla Adejokun sits 50th at 47-4.25 (14.43m).
Monie will also be in action in the discus, where Houston will have four of the nation's top marks entering the field, including her best of 151-6 (46.18m), which ranks 63rd in the NCAA. On the men's side, Kenneth Sessums ranks 72nd at 160-9 (49.01m), Zach Oliva sits 79th at 159-10 (48.73m) and Jose Rodriguez holds the 90th spot at 156-7 (47.74m).
Houston will stack the field in each of the men's and women's horizontal jump events. On the men's side, Jared Kerr enters with the 12th best long jump mark in the NCAA this season at 24-4.5 (7.43m), while holding the 35th position in the triple jump at 48-0.75 (14.65m). Antwan Dickerson holds the 25th best mark in the long jump at 23-10.0 (7.26m), while defending American Champion Samiyah Samuels will join the field for the women.
Pole vaulters will highlight the vertical jump events at the Victor Lopez Classic, where the Cougars field a ranked opponent on each of the men's and women's sides. Ben Percefull holds the No. 39 mark in the men's event at 16-0.75 (4.90m), while for the women, Sarah Howe leapt 11-7.75 (3.55m) a week ago to post the 90th best mark in the nation.
Also in the vertical leaps, freshman Hawa Wague enters as the 21st best women's high jumper with a season-best 5-7.0 (1.70m), while on the men's side, Colin George ranks 34th at 6-8.0 (2.03m).
Junior Amere Lattin will be Houston's final ranked individual in action on Saturday. The reigning American Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Week will enter the 110-meter hurdles, where he posted the third-fastest time in the NCAA a week ago in 13.93.
A full list of competitors for the Victor Lopez Classic can be found via the heat sheets by clicking HERE.
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Players Mentioned
