University of Houston Athletics
Houston Trio Claims American Honors
3/27/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
HOUSTON â€" Brian Barraza and Naomi Taylor have been named American Athletic Conference Track Athletes of the Week, while Samiyah Samuels has claimed the field honor for the Houston Cougar Men's and Women's Track & Field teams, the league announced Tuesday.
Barraza returned to the track after redshirting the 2017 outdoor season to make school history in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Barraza raced the distance/hurdle hybrid in 8:41.58 to win the event and move to No. 1 in the NCAA this season. Barraza's mark also broke Jeff Thompson's program-best time of 8:46.3 set at the Texas Relays in 1977.
The school-record for Barraza was his sixth distance record at Houston, and the award gives him six conference athlete of the week honors during his tenure.
Taylor, the American Conference Runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles during the indoor season, earned her first American Athlete of the Week honor with a win at the Victor Lopez Classic. While running into the wind, Taylor clocked the nation's 16th-fastest time at 13.45 to edge Jessica Duckett from Tulane.
Samuels dominated Saturday's long jump competition at Rice, winning the event by nearly half a foot en route to posting the nation's fifth-best mark this year. Samuels used her third attempt to leap 20-7.75 (6.29m) and take the victory, leading to her second-career American Field Athlete of the Week award.
For Houston, the Cougars have now claimed four outdoor Athlete of the Week honors during the outdoor season, and 10 overall in 2017-18. Amere Lattin earned the first outdoor (second overall) award a week ago, while Elijah Hall claimed the indoor track award four times and Tonye'cia Burks earned the field honor on Jan. 16.
UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
Houston heads to the University of Texas to compete in the 91st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin. The four-day event kicks off Wednesday, but the Cougars will be in action March 29-31.
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Players Mentioned
