Friday, February 22
Birmingham, Ala.
All Day
University of Houston
vs
The American Indoor Championships
Houston on Fire at American Championships
2/22/2019 10:44:00 PM | Track and Field
Three Cougars claim individual titles on Friday
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Houston ended the first day of The American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships with Samiyah Samuels (long jump), Trumaine Jefferson (long jump) and Taylor Scaife (weight throw) claiming conference titles in Birmingham, Ala.
Coming out of the preliminary rounds, Houston will send 26 into day two's finals to try to fight their way to the top and take home gold. Naomi Taylor is one of the 21 that had an outstanding day in the 60-meter hurdles by running the fastest time in UH history, setting a meet record and rising to No. 8 in the nation with a time of 8.08.
Samuels took home gold as she became a back-to-back long jump champion with a distance of 20-3.50 (6.18). Phedenia George-Mosbey joined Samuels in adding to the team points, finishing fifth with a jump of 19-1.50 (5.83).
Jefferson later gave Houston the long jump sweep and rose to No. 10 in the nation, and No. 5 in UH history, with a jump of 25-8.75 (7.81m). Friday's win was Jefferson's second career indoor conference title, having also accomplished the feat in 2017.
Scaife remained undefeated on the season as she took the lead in weight throw on her second attempt and never looked back, as she threw 70-9.75(21.58) to claim the win. Alongside Scaife on the weight throw podium, Priscilla Adejokun finished third with a personal best of 66-6.00 (20.27).
In prelims action, Houston had a number of athletes who were ahead of the game qualifying for Saturday finals. Brianne Bethel grabbed the second-best time in the 60-meter dash qualifying, 7.31, and will be joined in the finals by Tristan Evelyn (7.45).. As always, Mario Burke (6.62), Travis Collins (6.71), Nicholas Alexander (6.74), Edward Sumlet IV (6.78) and John Lewis III (6.82) gave Houston a dominating finals field in the 60-meter dash.
Taylor is sitting in first in the 60-meter hurdles eager to beat her outstanding time. Amere Lattin (7.85), Devion Wilson (8.08) and Quivell Jordan (8.17) all advanced to the men's 60-meter hurdles finals.
Bethel also is also looking to claim a title in the women's 200-meter dash, running the best time on Friday, 23.23, and will be joined in the finals by Birexus Hawkins (24.09). On the men's side, Houston lays claim to six of the eight finalist spots as Obi Igbokwe (20.96), Alexander (21.07), Burke (21.15), Lattin (21.30), Sumler (21.31) and Jordan Booker (21.35) all punched their tickets to the finals.
Hawkins is also sitting in second in the 400-meter dash, trying to make her way to first on Saturday. Kahmari Montgomery (46.19), Frederick Lewis (47.78) and Jermaine Holt (47.83) are itching to take the top three places in the men's 400. Freshman Christian Gilmore is headed to the finals in the 800-meter run after winning the second prelims' heat with a time of 1:53.42.
The women's mile final will also have Houston representation with Britani Gonzales (4:58.64) and Jennifer Dunlap (5:00.34) advancing while freshman Devin Vallejo (4:18.20) grabbed the final qualifying spot in the men's mile.
Another important athlete to note is Nathaniel Mechler who is sitting in second heading into day two of the heptathlon with 3,011 points. Mechler recorded PRs in both the 60-meter dash and shot put to highlight his day.
The women's distance medley team made up of Dunlap, Erin Derrow, Gonzales and Meredith Sorensen finished fifth and clocked the third-fastest time in UH history at 11:45.93.
The Houston men picked up five points in the distance medley relay as the quartet of Aaron Hurd, Jordan, Nicholas Hamilton and Cameron Laverty finished fourth with a time of 10:06.95.
Hawa Wague claimed a fifth-place finish in the pentathlon with a personal-best total of 3,728 points after recording PRs in 60-meter hurdles, long jump and 800-meter run.
Ben Percefull added two points to the Houston men's team total with a seventh-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 15-8.25 (4.78).
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 (@UHCougarTF).
Coming out of the preliminary rounds, Houston will send 26 into day two's finals to try to fight their way to the top and take home gold. Naomi Taylor is one of the 21 that had an outstanding day in the 60-meter hurdles by running the fastest time in UH history, setting a meet record and rising to No. 8 in the nation with a time of 8.08.
Samuels took home gold as she became a back-to-back long jump champion with a distance of 20-3.50 (6.18). Phedenia George-Mosbey joined Samuels in adding to the team points, finishing fifth with a jump of 19-1.50 (5.83).
Jefferson later gave Houston the long jump sweep and rose to No. 10 in the nation, and No. 5 in UH history, with a jump of 25-8.75 (7.81m). Friday's win was Jefferson's second career indoor conference title, having also accomplished the feat in 2017.
Scaife remained undefeated on the season as she took the lead in weight throw on her second attempt and never looked back, as she threw 70-9.75(21.58) to claim the win. Alongside Scaife on the weight throw podium, Priscilla Adejokun finished third with a personal best of 66-6.00 (20.27).
In prelims action, Houston had a number of athletes who were ahead of the game qualifying for Saturday finals. Brianne Bethel grabbed the second-best time in the 60-meter dash qualifying, 7.31, and will be joined in the finals by Tristan Evelyn (7.45).. As always, Mario Burke (6.62), Travis Collins (6.71), Nicholas Alexander (6.74), Edward Sumlet IV (6.78) and John Lewis III (6.82) gave Houston a dominating finals field in the 60-meter dash.
Taylor is sitting in first in the 60-meter hurdles eager to beat her outstanding time. Amere Lattin (7.85), Devion Wilson (8.08) and Quivell Jordan (8.17) all advanced to the men's 60-meter hurdles finals.
Bethel also is also looking to claim a title in the women's 200-meter dash, running the best time on Friday, 23.23, and will be joined in the finals by Birexus Hawkins (24.09). On the men's side, Houston lays claim to six of the eight finalist spots as Obi Igbokwe (20.96), Alexander (21.07), Burke (21.15), Lattin (21.30), Sumler (21.31) and Jordan Booker (21.35) all punched their tickets to the finals.
Hawkins is also sitting in second in the 400-meter dash, trying to make her way to first on Saturday. Kahmari Montgomery (46.19), Frederick Lewis (47.78) and Jermaine Holt (47.83) are itching to take the top three places in the men's 400. Freshman Christian Gilmore is headed to the finals in the 800-meter run after winning the second prelims' heat with a time of 1:53.42.
The women's mile final will also have Houston representation with Britani Gonzales (4:58.64) and Jennifer Dunlap (5:00.34) advancing while freshman Devin Vallejo (4:18.20) grabbed the final qualifying spot in the men's mile.
Another important athlete to note is Nathaniel Mechler who is sitting in second heading into day two of the heptathlon with 3,011 points. Mechler recorded PRs in both the 60-meter dash and shot put to highlight his day.
The women's distance medley team made up of Dunlap, Erin Derrow, Gonzales and Meredith Sorensen finished fifth and clocked the third-fastest time in UH history at 11:45.93.
The Houston men picked up five points in the distance medley relay as the quartet of Aaron Hurd, Jordan, Nicholas Hamilton and Cameron Laverty finished fourth with a time of 10:06.95.
Hawa Wague claimed a fifth-place finish in the pentathlon with a personal-best total of 3,728 points after recording PRs in 60-meter hurdles, long jump and 800-meter run.
Ben Percefull added two points to the Houston men's team total with a seventh-place finish in the pole vault, clearing 15-8.25 (4.78).
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 (@UHCougarTF).
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Multis
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Multis
/ Track and Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and Field
High Jump
/ Track and Field
Hurdles
/ Track and FieldInterview - Shaun Maswanganyi
Tuesday, August 06
1PM - Track & Field, Outdoor | Tom Tellez Invitational
Friday, May 03
Track & Field, Outdoor | Cameron Burrell Alumni Invitational:
Saturday, April 06
Kirk Baptiste Spring Break Invitational
Thursday, March 14