Houston sophomores Colton Harrison and Noah Hanson compete in the hurdle event at the Kirk Baptiste Invitational on Thursday, March 19, 2026 in Houston, Texas. Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
The University of Houston Track and Field team competed at home at the Carl Lewis International Complex in the Tom Tellez Alumni Invitational.
The event took place from April 17-18, 2026, but stopped short on the second day, right before the start of the men’s 200-meter race due to inclement weather conditions.
On the first day, the Cougars were able to secure a total of three first-place finishes, beginning with the men’s hammer throw.
Redshirt sophomore Ty Lott was the first Houston athlete to place first with a personal best mark of 64.17m on his final attempt in that event. This performance also put Lott in third place on Houston’s all-time performance list.
Senior Zaeda Houff posted a personal mark of 58.21m that was good for a second-place finish in the women’s hammer throw.
The second person to finish in first place was sophomore Evina Panagiotou in the women’s pole vault. Panagiotou posted a season-best mark of 4.23 while four other Houston athletes tied for second place. Graduate Arianna Peroni, senior Aubrey Tupper, junior Nicole Prall and sophomore Kayla Byrd all posted a mark of 3.88m.
Senior Reese Pokluda posted a season-best mark of 5.05m to lock down a second-place finish in the men’s pole vault.
The final first-place finish went to graduate Canaan Wharry in the men’s discus. On his first attempt in the event, Wharry posted a mark of 55.02, which secured the victory for the Houston Cougars.
In the 400-meter event, sophomore King Taylor placed second in the men’s race with a time of 48.14. Fellow sophomore Kali Magana placed third in the women’s race with a time of 55.38.
Although the second day was cut short, the Cougars managed to pull away with a total of six victories on the day.
Junior Ruth Agadama, sophomore Taylor Jackson, senior Matilde Ochoa and freshman Alexa Smothers won the women’s 4×100-meter relay race. In a phenomenal performance, they posted a season-best time of 44.66 to take home first place.
In the women’s 100-meter race, Houston completed a trifecta sweep in the event, placing first, second and third at the podium. Agadama came in first with a time of 11.55, followed by Ochoa at 11.62 and Jackson in third with a time of 11.65.
Earning his third victory of the season in the men’s shot put event was junior Cordell Nwokeji. On his third attempt, Nwokeji threw for a mark of 18.96m, which gave him the win.
Senior Kaycee McCoy delivered another first-place finish for the Cougars when she placed first with a time of 13.28 in the women’s 100-meter hurdles.
Junior Antrea Mita and freshman Kenneth Owen both placed in the men’s high jump. Mita placed first in the event with a mark of 2.16m, while Owen placed third at 2.01m
The final first-place finish for Houston came from Jaelyn Reeves-Lile in the men’s 100-meter event. Reeves-Life finished the race with a time of 10.43. In the men’s 800-meter event, sophomore Shawn Freeman finished second with a time of 10.43.
Sophomore Noah Hanson placed third in the placed third in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.97. Meanwhile, freshman William King IV posted a third-place finish with a time of 52.46 in the men’s 400-meter hurdles.
Sophomores Cleo Agyepong and Sydney Freeman placed second and third in the women’s shot put. Agyepong posted a personal best mark of 16.56m while Freeman also posted a personal best of 15.46m. This put Freeman in eighth place on Houston’s all-time performance list.
Lastly, in the women’s triple jump, freshman Saphina Stanley came in at second with a mark of 12.10 while sophomore Stephanie Ume-Ezeoke came in third with a mark of 11.47m.
The squads will split up next time as a select few athletes will head to the Penn Relays in Philadelphia on April 23, 2026. The rest will compete in the J. Fred Duckett Twilight at Rice University on April 25, 2026.
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