University of Houston Athletics
Houston Returns after NCAA Championships
6/9/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
HOUSTON â€" Fresh off its first podium finish at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships since 1959, the Houston Cougar Men's and Women's Track & Field teams return to Houston Sunday, and fans are encouraged to come out and welcome back the team.
The Cougars will leave Oregon in the early morning hours on Sunday, June 10 and are scheduled to land at George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 10:52 a.m. After going through baggage claim and a quick trip back to campus, Houston will arrive at the Athletics/Alumni Center at approximately noon CST, Sunday.
The address for the Athletics/Alumni Center is 3200 Cullen Blvd., Houston, Texas 77204.
The Cougar men matched their best finish ever at the NCAA Championship meet, finishing third for the first time since the 1959 season. Houston scored 35 points as a team, matching the second-highest total all-time and the most since reaching the same mark in 1984.
Houston won two national championships at the season-finale meet, beginning with capturing the crown in the 4x100-meter relay for the second-consecutive season. The Cougars' squad of John Lewis III, Elijah Hall, Mario Burke and Cameron Burrell ran the 400-meter relay in a collegiate-record 38.17 to claim the program's third overall title in the event.
Individually in Oregon, Burrell made history according to the USTFCCCA, when he won the individual championship in the 100-meter dash, completing what is believed to be the first father, mother and son combination to win titles in the straight-track event. Burrell's father and current Houston Track & Field Head Coach Leroy Burrell won gold in 1988, while his mother, then Michelle Finn, won the 100 title at Florida State in 1985.
Houston claimed 15 All-America Honors at the NCAA Championship meet, including First Team laurels for Burrell and the 4x100 relay team. Hall, who took silver in the 100-meter dash to give Houston just the second 1-2 finish for a team in the event in NCAA history, and Burke who placed eighth, also received First Team honors.
The men's 4x400-meter Relay team of Amere Lattin, Trumaine Jefferson, Burke and Kahmari Montgomery picked up First Team All-America Honors for their fifth-place finish to wrap up the meet, while Montgomery also took a First Team award for a seventh-place finish in the 400-meter dash.
Brian Barraza (men's 3,000-meter steeplechase) and Brianne Bethel (women's 100- and 200-meter dash) claimed Second Team All-America honors for finishes in their respective events, while Lattin (men's 110- and 400-meter hurdles), Nathaniel Mechler (men's decathlon), Nicholas Alexander (men's 200-meter dash), Birexus Hawkins (women's 400-meter hurdles) and Samiyah Samuels (women's long jump) all claimed Honorable Mention All-America honors.
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 ().
