University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
Mt. SAC Relays
Mechler Opens Weekend with Stellar Decathlon
4/20/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
HOUSTON -- Sophomore multi-athlete Nathaniel Mechler posted one of the top decathlons in program history as the Houston Cougar Men's and Women's Track & Field teams opened competition at a trio of weekend meets on Thursday.
ABOU T THE MT. SAC RELAYS
The 2018 Mt. SAC Relays will be held at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., while construction continues on historic Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College.
The 3-day meet kicks off Thursday at 12:30 p.m. CT, with the men's collegiate open hammer throw, while running events are slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. CT, with the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Friday's action will also start at 12:30 p.m. CT, with the women's collegiate open 1,500-meter run, while field events get underway at 2 p.m. CT, with the men's collegiate open long jump.
The final day of competition sees a later start, with field events opening action at 3 p.m. CT, with the elite invitational long jump, while the 4x100-meter relays open the final running slate at 3:10 p.m. CT.
A full schedule of events for the Mt. SAC Relays can be found by clicking HERE.
ABOUT THE J. FRED DUCKETT TWILIGHT INVITATIONAL
Rice's second home meet of the season will be a one-day event, held on Saturday, April 21. Action starts in the field at 10 a.m. CT, with the men's discus, while the afternoon running session kicks off with the women's 100-meter hurdles at 3 p.m. CT. The evening running session starts with the women's 4x100-meter relay at 6 p.m.
The meet schedule for the J. Fred Duckett Twilight Invitational can be found by clicking HERE.
Nathaniel Mechler AT THE BRYAN CLAY INVITATIONAL
Sophomore Nathaniel Mechler was the first Cougar in action on the weekend, completing a decathlon at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif.
Mechler opened the first day of competition with three personal-bests in the first five events, including the 100-meter dash, where he ran 10.73 to pick up 922 points to open the decathlon. Mechler would follow that with 970 points from the long jump with a mark of 25-0.75 (7.64m), while registering a personal record of 42-2.25 (12.86m) to score 659 points in the shot put.
Mechler wrapped the day with another lifetime best, this time in the high jump, where he went up-and-over the bar at 6-6.0 (1.98m) to score 785 points, before winning the 400-meter dash in 48.59 to cap the day with 881 points. Mechler tallied 4,217 points on the first day, a personal best.
On Thursday, Mechler picked up where he left off, achieving personal records in the first two events of the second day. Mechler opened the afternoon with a 870 points in the 110-meter hurdles after running 14.83 before throwing the discus 115-7 (35.23m) to pick up 568 points.
Mechler scored 760 and 567 points, respectively, after he went up-and-over the bar in the pole vault at 14-9.0 (4.50m) and threw the javelin 159-3 (48.54m) before concluding the competition with a time of 4:30.67 in the 1,500-meter run to score 740 points.
Mechler tallied a total of 7,722 points throughout the 10-event competition to finish second overall and first among collegiate competitors. The total for Mechler is the third-best decathlon in program history and moves him to No. 6 on the NCAA list this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED AT MT. SAC
Houston opened the Mt. SAC Relays in the field events with the men's and women's hammer throw. On the women's side, Taylor Scaife finished ninth with a top mark of 192-4 (58.63m), while on the men's side, Jose Herrera and Felipe Valencia finished 12th and 13th, respectively, with Herrera throwing 169-2 (51.57m) and Valencia marking 165-5 (50.41m).
Senior distance runner Maddie Brown capped the night at the Mt. SAC Relays with an 11th-place finish in the women's 10,000-meter run. Brown finished the 25-lap race in 35:06.64, which stands as the fourth-fastest 10K in Houston history.
WHAT TO WATCH
On the track, the meet will open with senior Brian Barraza's return to the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the first time since breaking the school record early in the season. Barraza ran 8:41.58 at the Victor Lopez Classic to set the program mark and post the third-fastest time in the country this season.
Houston will send a loaded sprint crew to the West Coast, with five different ranked student-athletes competing throughout the weekend. John Lewis III enters the 100-meter dash with the nation's 10th-best time this season at 10.13, while Mario Burke holds the 26th-best mark at 10.28.
On the women's side of the 100, Brianne Bethel enters the invitational event 40th in the country with a season-best time of 11.42, while her time in the 200-meter dash places her 29th in the outdoor circuit.
Elijah Hall is scheduled to return to action at the Mt. SAC Relays, where he will begin the weekend with the third-fastest time this season in the 200 at 20.11, while in the 400-meter dash, Kahmari Montgomery will look to improve on the 63rd-best time this season of 47.10.
Houston's hurdlers will be well-represented on each of the men's and women's side. Amere Lattin enters the 110-meter hurdles with the NCAA's No. 9 mark of 13.72, while also holding the fourth-best time this season in the 400-meter hurdles at 50.29. Freshman Quivell Jordan will also run the full-lap hurdle race, entering with a season-best time of 51.11 to sit 16th in the country.
In the women's straight-track hurdle race, Naomi Taylor enters with the 39th-best time in the NCAA this season. Taylor's season-best in the 100-meter hurdles came at the Victor Lopez Classic, where she ran 13.45.
Houston's jumpers will also make the trip out west, including Samiyah Samuels, who enters competition with the 17th-best mark in the women's long jump this season at 20-7.75 (6.29m). On the men's side, Antwan Dickerson holds the No. 20 mark in the NCAA at 25-5.25 (7.75m), while Jared Kerr ranks 44th (24-11.25; 7.60m) and Trumaine Jefferson sits 56th (24-8.5; 7.53m).
Tonye'cia Burks rounds out competition in the horizontal jumps in the triple jump. Burks enters 36th in the country with a top mark this season of 41-10.5 (12.76m).
Houston will look to continue a strong season in the ring this weekend, with nationally ranked athletes in the hammer throw, discus and shot put competitions. Fresh off breaking her own school record in the hammer throw for the third time this season, Taylor Scaife enters competition with the 15th-best throw this season at 204-7 (62.37m).
In the shot put, Nora Monie currently ranks 40th in the nation with a mark of 51-5.75 (15.69m), while freshman Priscilla Adejokun sits 58th at 50-4.0 (15.34m). On the men's side, Felipe Valencia holds the 42nd-best mark in the shot put this season at 59-4.75 (18.10m), while Cameron Cornelius' season best of 57-2.0 (17.42m) ranks 75th.
Monie will also throw the discus this weekend, entering the competition 50th in the NCAA with a top mark of 170-4 (51.91m) in 2018.
Houston will once again look to impress in the relay events, where they will enter two squads into the men's 4x100-meter relay. The Cougars are the only team in the NCAA this season to have two different teams post top-5 times nationally, with one team of Lewis III, Hall, Nicholas Alexander and Cameron Burrell running 38.92, while a separate team of Burke, Burrell, Lewis III and Hall have also run 38.95.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team enters with the 26th-best time this season at 3:07.81, while the women's team ranks 60th in the 4x1 and 79th in the 4x4.
Jack Thomas will be in action for the Cougars on Friday, however he will throw the javelin at the nearby Long Beach State Invitational. Thomas holds the seventh-best mark in the javelin this season at 234-10 (71.58m).
Live results will be made available for each of Houston's meets this weekend. Mt. SAC Results can be found by clicking HERE, while Rice results are HERE and Long Beach State results are HERE.
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