Cougars Win Four Conference Titles, Break Three Meet Records

Saturday, February 24

Lubbock, Texas

University of Houston

Big 12 Indoor Championship

Cougars Win Four Conference Titles, Break Three Meet Records

2/24/2024 10:00:00 PM | Track and Field

Results (PDF)

Levesque, Wilson, Beckford and women’s 4x400-meter relay take first on Saturday

By: Colton Merritt

LUBBOCK, Texas – University of Houston Track and Field closed out its first Big 12 Conference Indoor Championship with four event titles, another two runner-up finishes, 12 personal bests, three school records and three meet records inside Texas Tech's Sports Performance Center on Saturday.

Day two of the championships began with senior multi-athlete Grant Levesque winning the heptathlon with a meet and school record 6,068 points. Levesque set a personal best in five of the seven events and moved into the Top-10 school indoor performance list in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.79. The 6,068-point total puts Levesque at No. 4 in the nation.

Senior hurdler De'Vion Wilson finished tied with the top time in the country and won the Big 12 championship in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.55. Wilson's mark extended his school record he set in day one of the conference championships.

Graduate distance runner Kelly-Ann Beckford produced a golden day in the 800 meters and 4x400-meter relay. In the 800 meters, Beckford claimed the conference title and broke the meet record of 2:00.99. The graduate now holds the fourth-fastest time in the nation by shaving off over a second from her indoor school record time.

Beckford, along with graduate Sydni Townsend, senior Iman Babineaux and freshman Michaela Mouton ran a Big 12-best 3:29.42 to claim the 4x400-meter relay title, adding 10 points for the women's team. The relay ranked seventh nationally and is the indoor school record.

Senior sprinter Shaun Maswanganyi ran the 60 meters and 200 meters, taking second while earning eight points in each event. His 60-meter time of 6.62 would not beat out his prelims time of 6.54, a time that ranks No. 6 in the nation and third in school history. In the 200 meters, Maswanganyi ran a 20.41 to put him No. 4 in the nation and second in school history. The Johannesburg, South Africa, native also broke the South African 200-meter short track record by 0.04.

Freshman sprinter Cayden Broadnax ran to eighth in the 200-meter final with a time of 20.98, adding a point for the men.

In the 400 meters, Townsend and Mouton finished fourth and fifth respectively with Townsend setting a personal best time of 52.63. Mouton, who broke the school record on day one, finished with a time of 52.72. The duo added nine points for the women's team.

Senior distance runner MiKenna Robinson finished fifth in the 600-yard final, crossing the line at a personal best of 1:21.33, scoring four points.

Graduate distance runner Claire Meyer ran a personal-best time of 9:39.09 in the 3,000 meters to finish 14^th among 47 starters.

In the field events on day two, four Cougars set personal bests. In the men's triple jump, junior Kevin Snyder finished sixth with his jump of 15.45 meters. His jump earned the men's team three points.

Freshman thrower Cordell Nwokeji set a personal best throw of 18.13 meters in the men's shot put, earning seventh to gain two points. Nwokeji was the highest placing freshman in men's throwing events across the championships.

In the men's high jump, freshman Antrea Mita and junior My'Kell Beck finished with personal bests. Mita claimed fourth place with his jump of 2.14 meters and Beck finished 10^th clearing 2.10 meters. Mita earned 4.5 points for the men's point total.

The Texas Tech men and Texas women's were crowned team champions.

UP NEXT
Houston will wait and watch as other conference meets conclude to see how many student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Only the top 16 athletes will move to the NCAA Indoor Championships held on March 8-9 at The Track at New Balance in Boston, Mass.

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