Houston Splits Squad for Trio of Weekend Meets

Thursday, April 25

Philadelphia, Pa.

All Day

University of Houston

Penn Relays

4/24/2019 4:15:00 PM | Track and Field

Cougar athletes take on Penn Relays, Drake Relays and Texas A&M Alumni Muster

HOUSTON – The Houston Cougar Men's and Women's Track & Field team will travel to Philadelphia to compete in the Penn Relays across April 25-27, Des Moines, Iowa to compete in the Drake Relays across April 26-27, and College Station to compete in the Alumni Muster on April 27^th.

ABOUT THE PENN RELAYS
The 125^th Edition of the Penn Relays will kick off Thursday at 8 a.m. CT, with the women's discus throw, while running events start at 9 a.m. CT, with the women's 400-meter hurdles championship.

Friday's action will kick off at 8 a.m. CT, with both the men's 400-meter hurdles championship and men's discus throw.

The final day of competition sees an even earlier start, with the Olympic Development Men's 5k Racewalk starting at 6 a.m. CT, while the first Houston competitor will compete in in the College Men's 4x800 Championship of American Invitational at 12 p.m. CT. Field events open action at 8 a.m. CT, with the men's triple jump.

A full schedule of events for the Penn Relays can be found by clicking HERE.

ABOUT THE DRAKE RELAYS
The two-day event starts on Friday at 8 a.m. CT, with Houston hitting the track at 8:50 a.m. CT, for the women's 4x800-meter relay. Field events will begin at 8:30 a.m. CT with Houston opening action at 10 a.m. CT with the women's long jump. The evening running session starts at 5 p.m. CT, and the Cougars will compete in the 200-meter dash that is set for a 5:14 p.m. CT start.

The second and final day the Penn Relays will begin at 8 a.m. CT and the Cougars will hit the track shortly after that at 8:30 a.m. CT for the women's distance medley. Field events will get going later on in the day at 9 a.m. CT, with the women's hammer throw.

Houston alum Cameron Burrell will be in attendance at the meet, representing the USA at a member of Team USA for the USA vs. the World Relays.

The meet schedule for the Drake Relays can be found by clicking HERE.

ABOUT THE ALUMNI MUSTER
The one-day event sees a later start at 12:30 p.m. CT, with the women's hammer throw, while running events kick off at 5 p.m. CT, with the women's 100-meter hurdles.

A full list of the schedule for the Alumni Muster can be found by clicking HERE.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

On the men's side at the Penn Relays:

The 100-meter dash will be highlighted by a entries from competitors with four of the top-five fastest time in The American this season. Conference leader Mario Burke heads into the meet with a time of 10.07. Brandon Taylor will also be competing in the event where he ranks second in The American at 10.18, followed by an entry from Travis Collins who is currently third in the conference with a time of 10.19.

Sitting atop the conference and fifth in the nation, Amere Lattin will compete in the 110-meter hurdles with a conference-leading mark of 13.40.

The long jump will feature Lagarious McQuirter who currently ranks first in The American with a distance of 25-8.00 (7.82).

Felipe Valencia will compete in both the shotput and the hammer with throws of 60-6.75 (18.46) in the shotput, which is first in the conference. Triston Gibbons who is currently third in The American in the shotput with a mark of 58-1.00 (17.70), will compete in the shotput and the discus. Gibbons is second in the league in the discus with a mark of 179-4.00 (54.67).

Houston has entered a team into the men's 4x100-meter relay where they will face off with some of the best squads in the country. The Cougars currently hold the second-fastest time in the event in the nation after posting a time of 38.45 at the Texas Relays last month.

The Cougars will also compete in the 4x400-meter and look to maintain its place at the top of the conference in the event after posting the fifth-best time in program history at the Mt. Sac Relays this past weekend at 3:05.05. That time is currently 12^th nationally.

Houston is also slated to compete in the 4x200-meter, the 4x800-meter relay and the Sprint Medley.

On the women's side at the Penn Relays:

Essance Sample will highlight the 100-meter dash for the Cougars competing in the event and currently holding the sixth-fastest time in The American at 11.54.

Conference-leader Naomi Taylor will take to the track in the 100-meter hurdles, looking to improve her current personal-best time of 12.84.

Ebony White will compete in the 400-meter hurdles championship, heading into the race with a lifetime-best of 1:03.83.

Sitting at second-place in the conference, Samiyah Samuels will compete in the long jump championship and enter the event with her best distance of 20-7.25 (6.28).

Priscilla Adejokun will represent the Cougars in the shotput event looking to improve her current lifetime-best throw of 46-10.00 (14.27). Adejokun will also compete in the hammer throw where she ranks sixth in the conference with a mark of 196-1.00 (59.77).

Competing in the discus throw is Hailey Pollard who sits at fifth in the conference with a throw of 159-6.00 (48.61). Also competing is Ryan Pickering who is seventh in The American with a mark of 155-0.00 (47.24).

The women's team will compete in various relays including the 4x100-meter, 4x200-relay, the distance medley and the women's shuttle hurdles.

On the men's side at the Drake Relays:

Edward Sumler IV will be competing in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.44. Sumler is currently eighth in The American in the event. Sumler will also compete in the 200-meter dash where he ranks sixth in The American with a time of 20.95.

Sitting in second-place in the conference and sixth nationally, Quivell Jordan will take to the track in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 50.25.

Trumaine Jefferson will represent Houston in the long jump where he ranks third in The American with a distance of 25-1.75 (7.66).

Houston will take to the track in the men's 4x100-meter relay and the 4x200-meter relay.

On the women's side at the Drake Relays:

Currently ranked eighth in the league, Samiyah Samuels will be competing in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.58. Samuels will also compete in long jump where she ranks second in the conference with a distance of 20-7.25 (6.28).

Phedenia George-Mosbey will bolster the Cougars in the long jump, heading into the event at sixth in the league with a mark of 19-7.50 (5.98).

The women's 4x100-meter relay team will compete among the nations best and look to take home the title.

Texas A&M Alumni Muster
The Alumni Muster will feature entries from Rice, UTSA, Texas Southern, and UTRGV. Once heat sheets are released, they can be found by clicking HERE.

Live results will be made available for each of Houston's meets this weekend. Penn Relays results can be found by clicking HERE , Drake Relays results are HERE, and Alumni Muster results are HERE.

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).

--UHCougars.com--