University of Houston Athletics
Houston Compiles Big Second Day at Penn
4/27/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
HOUSTON â€" The Houston Cougar Men's and Women's Track & Field teams qualified five individuals and three relay squads for Saturday's final day of the 124th running of the Penn Relays.
ABOUT THE PENN RELAYS
Saturday will consist of finals action throughout the day, beginning with the men's 4x100-meter relay at 12:32 p.m. CT, while the conclusion of the Penn Relays will be at 4:55 p.m., with the finals of the men's 4x400.
Saturday's competition will air live via NBCSN and NBC Sports Gold from 11:30 a.m., until 2 p.m.
A full schedule for the Penn Relays can be found by clicking HERE.
ABOUT THE LSU INVITATIONAL
The LSU Invitational will be held on Saturday, April 28. The meet begins in the field with the women's discus at 9:30 a.m. Running events will kick off with the women's 5,000-meter run at 11:20 a.m., with the meet set to wrap up at 2:20 p.m., with the men's 4x400-meter relay.
A full schedule for the LSU Invitational can be found with the meet information by clicking HERE.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cougars opened the day on the track in the preliminary rounds of the men's 4x100-meter relay. Houston's squad of John Lewis III, Mario Burke, Nicholas Alexander and Cameron Burrell raced one lap around the track in 40.07 to win the third heat and clock the fastest time in the heats.
With the qualifying time, the Cougars punch their ticket to the College Men's 4x100 Championship of America on Saturday at 12:35 p.m. CT.
The Women followed in the College Women's 4x100 Championship of America, after qualifying with the sixth-fastest time overall in the preliminaries. Houston's team of Essance Sample, Ariele Adams, Samiyah Samuels and Brianne Bethel returned to match a season-best with a time of 45.00 and take fifth in the event.
The women's 4x200-meter relay squad would follow on the track, where the team of Birexus Hawkins, Sierra Smith, Sample and Bethel completed the two-lap relay in 1:36.03 to win the third heat and post the fourth fastest time of the preliminary round.
The women will compete in the final of the College Women's 4x200 Championship of America at 1:25 p.m. CT, Saturday.
In the individual races, Burrell, Burke and Lewis III each qualified for the finals of the men's 100-meter dash. Burrell won the first heat and clocked the fastest overall time at 10.45, while Mario Burke finished right on his heels in 10.47 to qualify third. Lewis III ran the second heat in 10.55 to post the fifth-fastest time in the prelims and earn the qualification on time.
The Cougar trio will return to the track in search of Houston's third-straight (LeShon Collins in 2016 and Elijah Hall in 2017) Penn Relays 100-meter dash championship at 2:50 p.m. CT, Saturday.
Amere Lattin followed shortly after with a qualification in the men's 110-meter hurdles. Lattin ran 13.97 to win the third heat of the event and qualify with the third-fastest time overall. Lattin will run the finals on 2:20 p.m. CT, Saturday.
Samiyah Samuels also punched her ticket to the finals of the women's 100-meter dash. A day after finishing fourth in the championships of the long jump, Samuels ran 11.97 to post the seventh-fastest overall time of the prelims and book a berth in Saturday's final. Samuels will return at 2:35 p.m. CT, Saturday.
Houston finished the afternoon in the men's 4x400-meter relay, where the squad punched its third relay finals ticket of the afternoon. The Cougars' team of Lattin, Quivell Jordan, Thomas Alcorn and Kahmari Montgomery finished the 1600-meter relay in 3:08.62 to clock the third-fastest time of the prelims.
The men will be the last event on the track of the 124th Penn Relays, when they run in the College Men's 4x400 Championship of America at 4:55 p.m. CT, Saturday.
In Houston's lone field event of the second day, Jared Kerr picked up a fourth-place finish in the College Men's Long Jump Championship, when his top attempt of the day traveled 24-5.0 (7.44m).
FOLLOW ALONG LIVE
A full list of competitors and a complete breakdown of Penn Relays information as well as live results can be found by clicking HERE.
Heat sheets and start lists for the LSU Invitational will be made available as the meet draws closer and can be found by clicking HERE.
FOLLOW THE COUGARS
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