University of Houston Athletics
Houston Ready for NCAA Outdoor Championships
6/5/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Men's Start List | Women's Start List | Meet Schedule | Live Results
HOUSTON -- The 2018 outdoor season is winding down and the Houston Cougar Track & Field program is ready for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
ABOUT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships are held June 6-9 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The men will open action on Wednesday before wrapping up their season on Friday, while the women will compete Thursday and Saturday.
All four days of the NCAA Outdoor Championships will air on the ESPN family of networks. Wednesday's men's semifinal action will begin at 2:20 p.m. CST, on ESPN3 before the broadcast moves to ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. CST. The women's first day of action begins on ESPN3 at 11:50 a.m. CST, Thursday before making the switch to ESPN2 at 6 p.m. CST.
Friday's finals for the men opens at 5:20 p.m. CST, on ESPN3 before the conclusion of the meet will air on ESPN at 7 p.m. CST. The final day of action begins at 4:50 p.m. CST on ESPN3 for the women, while action will conclude at 5:30 p.m. CST on ESPN.
A full schedule for the NCAA Outdoor Championships is available HERE.
In addition to the live broadcast, live results will also be made available courtesy of the NCAA. Live results can be found by clicking HERE.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Houston's weekend will begin in the multi-events, where decathlete Nathaniel Mechler will be on the track at 2:30 p.m. CST, for the decathlon 100-meter dash, the first of 10 events. Mechler will also be in action in the long jump, shot put, high jump and 400-meter dash on Wednesday. He will wrap the competition with five more events on Thursday, beginning with the 110-meter hurdles at noon and concluding with the discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500-meter run.
The men's semifinal round begins at 6:32 p.m. CST, on Wednesday with the 4x100-meter relay, where the Cougars will look to defend their national-championship crown from the 2017 season. The Cougars posted the sixth-fastest time in the NCAA this season at 38.92 and had three different squads post a top-8 time. The Cougars qualified with the second-fastest overall time at the NCAA West Regional at 39.40.
Senior Brian Barraza makes his first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, and he will be the first Cougar individual on the track in the semifinal of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 7:02 p.m. CST. Barraza, the school record holder in the event, broke his own best mark when he ran 8:41.49 to qualify with the fifth-fastest time of the NCAA West Regional.
Amere Lattin will hit the track next for the Cougars in the first of two events for the junior, the 110-meter hurdles. Lattin took a tumble across the finish line at the West Prelims, but still qualified with the fifth-fastest time overall at 13.77. Lattin will compete at 7:32 p.m. CST.
A trio of Cougars will follow on the straight-track, when Mario Burke, Cameron Burrell and Elijah Hall compete in the 100-meter dash semifinal at 7:46 p.m. CST. Burrell ran the second-fastest time of the preliminary round quarterfinals at 10.14, while Hall crossed the line in 10.22 to qualify fourth and Burke picked up the 12th-fastest mark at 10.33.
At 8 p.m. CST, Kahmari Montgomery will hit the track for the semifinal round of the 400-meter dash. The American Champion in the event on the indoor and outdoor slate ran 45.25 to post the second-fastest qualifying time at the West Regional.
Lattin will return on the track for his second event, the 400-meter hurdles, at 8:30 p.m. CST. Lattin broke the school record on each day of the NCAA West Prelim. Lattin ran 49.71 in the first round, before returning to run 49.70 in the quarterfinal to book the sixth-fastest qualifying time.
Freshman Nicholas Alexander will make his NCAA Championship debut as the final Cougar individual on the track for the men on Wednesday. Alexander ran 20.90 in the quarterfinals of the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Prelims to earn the chance to run at the NCAA meet. Alexander will be in action at 8:44 p.m. CST.
Houston will wrap the first day of competition with the men's 4x400-meter relay at 9:48 p.m. CST, Wednesday. The men ran the third-fastest time nationally in the regular season, when they broke the school record at the Penn Relays in 3:01.82.
The women's first day of action will be held Thursday, where Brianne Bethel will kick off action in her first of two events, the 100-meter dash, at 7:16 p.m. CST. Bethel qualified with the 12th-fastest time at the NCAA West Prelims with a time of 11.31.
Houston's only field athlete in competition at the NCAA Championships will be Samiyah Samuels, and she will be on the runway for the long jump at 7:30 p.m. CST, Thursday. Samuels used her first attempt at the NCAA West Regional to leap 19-8.0 (5.99m) to post the 12th-best mark of the competition and book her spot in the championships.
Sophomore Birexus Hawkins makes her first trip to the NCAA Championships in the 400-meter hurdles at 8 p.m. CST, Thursday. Hawkins circled one-lap around the track, while going over the hurdles, in 58.25 to post the sixth-best time at the Regional.
Bethel will return to action as Houston's final competitor in the semifinal rounds of the NCAA Championships, when she competes in the 200-meter dash at 8:14 p.m. CST. Bethel, The American Champion in the event, ran the eight-fastest qualifying time in the west at 23.01 to book a spot in the season's final meet.
A full list of athletes competing at the NCAA Championships can be found via the start lists by clicking HERE for the men and HERE for the women.
WEDNESDAY COMPETITORS
2:30 p.m. -- Nathaniel Mechler, Decathlon
6:32 p.m. -- Men's 4x100-meter Relay | Heat 3
7:02 p.m. -- Brian Barraza, 3,000-meter Steeplechase | Heat 1
7:32 pm. -- Amere Lattin, 110-meter Hurdles | Heat 2
7:46 p.m. -- Elijah Hall, 100-meter Dash | Heat 1
7:46 p.m. -- Cameron Burrell, 100-meter Dash | Heat 1
7:46 p.m. -- Mario Burke, 100-meter Dash | Heat 2
8 p.m. -- Kahmari Montgomery, 400-meter Dash | Heat 2
8:30 p.m. -- Amere Lattin, 400-meter Hurdles | Heat 1
8:44 p.m. -- Nicholas Alexander, 200-meter Dash | Heat 1
9:48 p.m. -- Men's 4x400-meter Relay | Heat 2
THURSDAY COMPETITORS
Noon -- Nathaniel Mechler, Decathlon
7:16 p.m. -- Brianne Bethel, 100-meter Dash | Heat 3
7:30 p.m. -- Samiyah Samuels, Long Jump | Flight 2
8 p.m. -- Birexus Hawkins, 400-meter Hurdles | Heat 3
8:14 p.m. -- Brianne Bethel, 200-meter Dash | Heat 2
HOUSTON AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
2018 marks the 35th season (fifth consecutive) that the Cougars have been represented by the men's team at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. As a team, the Houston has finished inside the top-15 on 15 occasions, including a 10th-place finish in 2016 and a 12th-place finish a season ago.
The women's team will send representatives to the NCAA Championships for the 23rd time in program history and the first since the 2015 season.
END OF SEASON HAPPY HOUR
To celebrate the Houston Cougar Track & Field program's incredible season, the Cougars will host Happy Hour from 6-8 p.m., Monday, June 11, at BB's Café on Westheimer. The event is open to the public and guests will be treated to Head Coach Leroy Burrell and Assistant Coach Carl Lewis addressing the crowd and joining in the celebration.
The address for BB's Café is 6154 Westheimer Rd., Houston, Texas, 77057.
FOLLOW THE COUGARS
Fans can keep up with the latest in University of Houston Cougar athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/HoustonAthletics), Twitter (@UHCougars), Instagram (houstoncougars) and YouTube.com (Youtube.com/UHAthletics). In addition, the Track & Field team has established its own official Facebook (facebook.com/UHCougarTF) and Twitter pages ().
Players Mentioned
