UH track and field dominated the 2021 AAC Championships with the men’s team capturing its fifth straight conference title and the women’s team coming out on top for the first time since 2018. | Courtesy of UH athletics
After three days of dominant performances at the 2021 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships, the UH track and field teams came out victorious as the men’s team ran away its fifth straight conference championship scoring a total of 221.5 points and the women’s team scored 153 points to capture the title.
Here’s a breakdown of how both UH track and field teams became AAC champions:
Men’s team
Senior Miles Marhofer earned UH’s first points of the meet, placing seventh in the men’s hammer throw with a throw of 56.66 meters.
Junior Triston Gibbons added his mark to the Cougars’ success by winning the men’s shot put on the second day of action,making it back-to-back seasons that a Cougar has won the conference title for the event. Gibbons winning throw of 19.05 meters set a conference and meet record.
In the men’s long jump, junior Benjamin Okafor took third place with a leap of 7.34 meters on his final attempt.
UH started off the last day of competition strong, with three Cougars on top of the podium. Sophomore Christyan Sampy won the event clearing a height of 5.37 meters, followed by graduate student Antonio Ruiz at 5.37 meters and senior Ben Percefull at 5.27 meters.
Sophomores Jadon Brome and Quinton Stringfellow finished first and second in the men’s triple jump, as Brome posted a jump of 16.05 meters with Stringfellow right behind him at 15.97 meters.
The men’s 400-meter relay team won the event, clocking in a time of 39.42.
The Akindele brothers took first and second in the men’s 110-meter hurdles final, as Dayo clocked in a 13.57 while DJ finished with a time of 13.78.
Graduate student Jermaine Holt came out on top of the men’s 400-meter dash with a time of 46.06. Junior Tyrell Valentine finishing third place in the final at 46.78.
Freshman phenom Shaun Maswanganyi dazzled in the 100-meter dash, finishing with the only sub-10 second time at 9.87 which marks the second fastest time in the NCAA this season. The Cougars took the top seven spots in the event with senior Travis Collins and junior Jordan Booker earning the other two spots on the podium.
Maswanganyi was not finished on the day, coming out on top once again in the men’s 200-meter dash final with the only sub-20 second time at 19.93.
Junior Christian Gilmore grabbed a third-place finish in the men’s 800-meter with a time of 1:52.19.
Senior Quivell Jordan came out with a victory in the men’s 400-meter hurdles at 50.10
The Cougars’ closed out a stellar performance at the conference championships with podium finishes in the 1600-meter relay, as the men’s team took home first place with a time of 3:05.51
Women’s team
On the first day of events, graduate student Taylor Scaife kicked things off for the Cougars, securing UH’s first individual title at the AAC Championships in the women’s hammer throw with a personal-best toss of 64.79 meters to win the event.
Graduate student Mikaila Martin followed Scaife in the event with a second place finish at 63.31 meters.
On the second day of action, the Cougars did not slow down as junior Nu’uausala Tuilefano picked up her first conference title in the women’s shot put with a program and meet record of 17.11 meters.
Graduate student Samiyah Samuels picked up a second place finish in the women’s long jump with a distance of 6.35 meters. Sophomore Destiny Lawrence was not far behind Samuels, finishing in fourth place with a personal-best jump of 6.24 meters.
Senior Sarah Howe finished third in the women’s pole vault with a height measuring in at 4.02 meters, picking up her first career podium finish outdoors.
On the final day of competition, the Cougars closed out the meet strong, as graduate Nora Monie won the women’s discus throw title with a distance of 53.47 meters.
The women’s 400-meter relay team took first with a time of 42.84.
Graduate student Brianne Bethel was victorious in the women’s 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line at 51.77.
Later in the day, Bethel earned yet another title this time in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 22.54. Tamayo-Garza came in third at 23.02.
Graduate student Tristan Evelyn set the AAC 100-meter dash record with a time of 11.14 to win the event followed by junior Cecilia Tamayo-Garza who clocked in at 11.21, good for second place.
The women’s team wrapped up the championships finishing second in the 1600-meter relay final at 3:35.84, securing its first AAC championship since 2018.
