Leonard Hilton Memorial Meet Starts 2023

Friday, January 13

Houston, Texas

University of Houston

Leonard Hilton Memorial Invitational

1/12/2023 1:25:00 PM | Track and Field

Houston hosts Leonard Hilton Memorial Invitational, kicks off 2023, begins new era

HOUSTON – The University of Houston track and field team opens its 2023 indoor season with the Leonard Hilton Memorial Invitational on Friday. Field events are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. CT with track events starting at 11:30 a.m. CT.

LEONARD HILTON MEMORIAL INVITATIONAL
Date \| Time				Friday, Jan. 13 \| 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Teams				Houston (host), Butler CC, Huston-Tillotson, Lamar, Minnesota (women only), Our Lady of the Lake, Rice, Sam Houston, St. Thomas, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Texas A&M Kingsville, Texas Southern, UTSA
Location				Yeoman Fieldhouse \| Houston, Texas
Watch				UHCougars.com/watch
Live Stats				UHStats.com
Meet Information				Meet Information and Links
Social Media				@uhcougartf \| @uhccougartf \| H-Town Speed City Track and Field \| #GoCoogs \| #HTownSpeedCity

STARTING LINE NOTES

Houston returns 18 NCAA West Preliminary Round qualifiers from 2022, including eight men who qualified for the NCAA Championships.
The Cougars return all four legs of their third-place finishing 400-meter relay squad (Jordan Booker, Dylan Brown, Edward Sumler IV, Shaun Maswanganyi).
Olympic finalist and NCAA All-American Maswanganyi returns for Houston. The 200-meter dash star is coming off All-American First Team honors in the 200 and Second Team honors in the 100-meter dash. Maswanganyi won the 200 at The American Championships.
Sumler IV won the 2022 American Championships 100 title and returns to defend his crown in 2023. Sumler IV finished third in the Indoor 200 at the American Indoor Championships.
Pole vaulter Christyan Sampy returns as well after posting All-American honors indoor in 2022.
The women's top throwers return in 2023 with Priscilla Adejokun and Nu'uausala Tuilefano coming off NCAA West Preliminary Round appearances. Adejokun finished second in the weight throw at the American Indoor Championships and finished 12th at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the event.
Cecilia Tamayo-Garza, Houston's leading sprinter in 2022 returns for 2023 with title aspirations in the 100 and 200.
After posting the best finish at the NCAA South Central Regional cross country meet since 1994 (15th overall), Claire Meyer will lead the distance crew on the track.
Brandon Seagreaves leads the men's distance crew after finishing 22nd overall at the NCAA South Central Regional.
The Cougars welcome 29 newcomers to the 2023 squad.
Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Will Blackburn begins his first season leading the program. Head Coach Carl Lewis begins his first season as Head Coach of the Cougars Track and Field program.

ABOUT LEONARD HILTON
Leonard Hilton was a University of Houston track and field letterman from 1967-71, was a member of the 1972 United States Olympic team and two-time American champion in the mile in 1973 and '75 . In addition to earning the distinction as the first native Texan to run a sub-four-minute mile, Hilton was also the anchor of the Cougars' relay team that set a world record in the indoor distance medley relay in 1970.

Originally from Hillsboro, Texas, and a graduate of Austin High School in Houston, Hilton became the first Cougar miler to break the four-minute barrier. He accomplished that feat a stunning 32 times in official competitions. Hilton made the Olympic team in 1972 as a runner in the 5,000 meters. At the Olympic Trials in a Eugene, Oregon, Hilton battled Steve Prefontaine in the 5,000 before finishing third in the event.

Hilton, earned his degree in engineering from UH and later served as vice president of operations with Kinder Morgan Energy and Enron Corp. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in spring of 1999 and passed away in 2000.

SUPPORT HOUSTON RISE
Join Houston Rise, a $150 million fundraising campaign for Houston Athletics dedicated to championship success in the Big 12 Conference. Every Houston Rise contribution prepares our Cougars to compete and win when we start Big 12 competition in July 2023. Click here to rise and be counted.

JOIN the PODIUM CLUB
The Podium Club serves as a unique and effective way to enhance the level of excitement and support for Houston Cougar Track and Field and Cross Country. Gifts to the Podium Club provide financial support directly to the programs for needs beyond their operating budgets.

Donations made to the Podium Club are used at the discretion of the head coach. For more information or to sign up, click here. To join the Podium Club, fans may call Cougar Pride at 713-743-GoUH (4687).

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates on #HTownSpeedCity by following @UHCougarTF on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarTF or on the team's Instagram page at @uhcougartf.

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