Houston Track and Field Travels To NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in Norman, Okla.
May 25, 2005
This Week The Cougars will be competing against student-athletes from NCAA Division I schools located throughout the states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Montana, and Nebraska. The Midwest Regional is one of four NCAA Division I Regional Championships. The East Regional is in New York City and the host school is Manhattan College. The host for the Mideast Regional is Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., while the West Regional is in Eugene, Ore., and the University of Oregon is the host. The Midwest Regional Championships begin with the men's discus throw and high jump at noon on Friday, May 27. The field events continue with the women's pole vault, women's hammer throw and men's javelin throw at 3:00 p.m. The final field events on the first day will be the men's shot put along with the men and women's long jump at 6:00 p.m. The running events on the first day are the preliminary running events, which begin at 4:00 p.m. along with the finals of the women's and men's 5,000 meters that are scheduled for 8:00 and 8:20 p.m., respectively. The Midwest Regional Championships conclude on Saturday. The field events begin with the women's discus throw and high jump at noon. The next field events are the men's pole vault, men's hammer throw and women's javelin throw at 3:00 p.m. The final field events will be the women's shot put, along with the men and women's triple jumps at 6:00 p.m. The final running events on Saturday begin at 5:00 p.m. They include the men's and women's 4x100-meter relay, 1500 meters, 100-meter hurdles, 110-meter hurdles, 400 meters, 100 meters, 800 meters, 400-meter hurdles, 200 meters, steeplechases and the 4x400-meter relay races. The top five finishers in each individual event and top three relay teams at each Regional Championship qualify to compete in the NCAA Championships on June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif. The NCAA also completes each event using the descending order list. The two-day Regional Championships do not include the men and women's 10,000-meter runs, the men's decathlon or the women's heptathlon. Qualifiers in those four events must meet predetermined standards. Head Coach Leroy Burrell Earlier this season, Burrell was named the Conference USA men's and women's indoor track and field Coach of the Decade as the league celebrated its first 10 years of existence. Later, he was named the C-USA women's outdoor track and field Coach of the Decade. He also was named the 2005 C-USA men's outdoor track and field Coach of the Year honors after leading the Cougars to a conference Triple Crown, as Houston won the C-USA men's cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field championships. It marks the 13th time in his career that he has been named the Conference USA Coach of the Year since he began his coaching career at Houston in 1999. In his seventh season as head coach, Burrell has led Houston to eight men's and seven women's Conference USA Championships, including C-USA men's and women's indoor and outdoor titles in 2005. Earlier this season, Burrell was tabbed the NCAA South Regional and Conference USA Men's Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year for the third straight year after leading the Cougars to their third consecutive and fifth overall C-USA indoor track and field championship during his tenure as head coach. Individually, Burrell also coached two-time NCAA champion Jenny Adams, All-American sprinters Robert Foster and Stanford Routt along with 72 Conference USA individual champions. Houston at the 2004 NCAA Midwest Regional Championships Stanford Routt won the 200 meters for the second straight year before finishing in second place at the 2004 NCAA Championships. Routt was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the NFL Draft earlier this season and has not competed since running in the 4x100-meter relays at the Texas Relays. Andrew Carruthers posted a third-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.08 seconds after finishing seventh in the 110-meter hurdles with a wind-aided time of 13.98. Houston also had a fourth-place showing in the men's 4x100-meter relay with a season-best time of 40.09 seconds. Tristian Whitley tied for fifth in the high jump after clearing 2.16 meters (7-1), and Vincent Marshall finished fifth in the triple jump after leaping a wind-aided 15.92 meters (52-2.75). Jonathan Reeves posted a seventh-place finish in the shot put with a mark of 16.01 emters (52-6.50). The Lady Cougars scored 12 team points to place 23rd at the 2004 Midwest Regional Championships. Caresir Hamilton was the Lady Cougars' top performer as she registered a third-place finish in the triple jump with a wind-aided leap of 12.56 meters (41-2.50). Alicia Cave finished in fifth place in the women's 100-meter hurdles for the second straight year with a wind-aided time of 13.55 seconds. LaDedra Guy had a sixth-place finish in the 100 meters with a season-best wind-aided time of 11.40 seconds. Houston also had a sixth-place showing in the women's 4x100-meter relay race with a time of 45.03 seconds, and finished eighth in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:37.05. Allie Booker finished eighth in the discus with a throw of 50.14 meters (164-6). Keisha Howard registered a ninth-place showing in the 400 meters with a time of 55.47 seconds. Houston Wins Its Fifth Men's C-USA Outdoor Titles Houston Wins Its Fifth Women's Conference USA Outdoor Titles Senior All-American Krystal Ward set a new Conference USA record when she scored 5,536 points in the heptathlon to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. Keisha Howard also set a new C-USA record in the 400 meters when she won the race in 52.11 seconds. Senior Alicia Cave also set a C-USA record when she won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of won the 400-meter hurdles in 57.78 seconds. Jasmine Jackson was Houston's other champion in the women's division as she won the women's long jump. LaCour, Perry, Ward and Two Relay Teams ranked among Trackwire's "Dandy Dozen" Lists LaCour is ranked as the eighth best sprinter in the 200 meters, while his teammate, Preston Perry, is ranked 12th in the May 18th poll. Ward is ranked ninth in the women's heptathlon. The Lady Cougars are ranked 10th in the women's 4x400-meter relay list, while the Cougars are listed 11th in the men's 4x100-meter relay list. The "Dandy Dozen" list is a power ranking of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event. Track and field statistician Gary Verigin compiles the lists. The factors Verigin uses to build his lists include: performances in previous major competitions, durability and freedom from injuries, demonstrated ability to compete well in multiple rounds of competition, head-to-head competition with other top athletes, and personal or seasonal bests. Next Meet Looking To 2006
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