UH track and field’s women’s 4×100-meter relay team exchanges the baton on its way to victory in the event at the Tom Tellez Invitational. | Courtesy of UH athletics
In the final regular season meet of 2021, the Houston track and field team picked up several first-place and podium finishes in the Tom Tellez Invitational.
Graduate students Mikaila Martin and Taylor Scaife started UH off in the right direction in the field events to start the meet, finishing second and third place in the women’s hammer throw with tosses of 66.89 and 64.22 meters respectively.
In the men’s hammer throw, senior Miles Marhofer grabbed second place with a toss of 59.87 meters.
In the women’s pole vault, three Cougars finished in the top five positions led by senior Sarah Howe (third) at 3.81 meters, with sophomore Madeline Patino (fourth) right behind at 3.66 meters and junior Melanie Prieto (fifth) at 3.51 meters.
Graduate student Antonio Ruiz had a historic day in the men’s pole vault. Ruiz set the UH program record in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault, clearing a height of 5.45 meters to win the event.
Senior Ben Percefull finished right behind Ruiz in second with a jump of 5.24 meters.
Junior Nu’uausala Tuilefano picked up another victory for the Cougars in the women’s shot put with a throw of 16.30 meters in the women’s shot put.
Graduate student Nora Monie added to the Cougars’ success with a victory of her own in the women’s discus throw as she posted a toss of 55.12 meters on her first attempt.
Junior Triston Gibbons had himself a day as he doubled-down with first-place finishes in the men’s shot put with a throw of 17.88 meters and the men’s discus throw with a toss of 54.09 meters.
The Cougars dominated the women’s long jump claiming all three spots on the podium. Graduate student Samiyah Samuels in first-place with a jump of 6.13 meters, while sophomore Destiny Lawrence took second at 6.02 meters and freshman Justice Henderson finished third at 5.54 meters.
Freshman Ayomide Ogunbunmi won the men’s triple jump with a jump of 14.66 meters.
In the running events, the women’s 4×100 meter relay team started off on the right foot with a victory in their event, clocking a time of 43.93.
In the women’s 200-meter dash, junior Cecilia Tamayo-Garza picked up a second-place finish with a time of 23.17, just slightly over her personal-best time in the event.
Graduate student Brianne Bethel finished third with a time of 23.24.
Graduate student Dayo Akindele and junior DJ Akindele put on an impressive display in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, grabbing first and fourth-place in the event as they clocked in times of 13.51, the eighth-fastest in the NCAA this season, and 14.10 respectively.
Freshman Shaun Maswanganyi and graduate student Travis Collins finished second and third in the men’s 100-meter dash as Maswanganyi posted a time of 10.04 while Collins clocked a 10.16.
Maswanganyi later returned and picked up a victory in the men’s 200-meter dash with a time of 20.14, while junior Christian Hamberlin grabbed third finishing in 20.51.
Senior David Marquise Patrick finished second in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 53.85, while sophomore Matthias Petterway followed up in third place with a time of 55.40.
Now that the regular season has wrapped up, the Cougars are now heading to Tampa, Florida, to compete in the 2021 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships from May 14-16.
