Houston track & field qualify in six different events for the NCAA National Championships

Thirty members of the Houston track & field squad competed at the NCAA regional meet in Fayetteville, Arks. this past week. 11 of them qualifying in six different events in the NCAA National Championships taking place in Eugene, Ore., June 10-13.

Senior Louie Hinchcliffe was the only Cougar to qualify in two different events for the national championships, making it in both the open 100-meter, as well as being a part of the men’s 4×100 relay team that also qualified.

In the open 100-meter, Hinchcliffe got the fastest time, punching his ticket to Eugene with a time of 10.01.

For the 4×100 relay, Hinchliffe, graduate Ryan Mulholland, freshman Sean Aigboboh and senior Dakari Charlton got a time of 38.86, getting third place.

Junior Cordell Nwokeji was the first Cougar to punch his ticket to Eugene, getting a distance of 18.93m, which got him seventh place in shot put for Nwokeji’s first-ever national championship appearance.

Thursday saw sophomore Cleo Agyepong also qualify for her first-ever national championship in shot put. Agyepong threw a distance of 16.94m, which is a personal best, and got eighth place.

Agyeopong is the sole qualifier for the women, who will have a representative in the NCAA Championships after no one qualified last season for the first time since 2017.

Friday was the most successful day of the meet for UH, with four different events qualifying.

Starting early on, junior Antrea Mita secured a spot in the national championships in the high jump for the third time in his career, getting a height of 2.20 meters, and tying for seventh place.

Lastly, the men’s 4×400 team qualified to the next stage running a time of 3:03.40. The team of sophomore Damarien Jacobs, graduate Trey East III, sophomore King Taylor and freshman Dominic Harper got a season’s best time and finished third in their heat.

All the Cougars that qualified for the national championships will compete in Eugene, Ore., at the University of Oregon from June 10-13.