Three Houston Cougars to compete at U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2016 TexSport Publications

EUGENE, OREGON (July 1, 2016) The Houston Cougars will continue the tradition of having a presence at the United States Track and Field Olympic Trials being held in Eugene, Oregon beginning on Saturday, July 1, 2016. Three current athletes and one alumni will converge at Hayward Field with the goal of making the Olympic team and competing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the Games of the 23^rd Olympiad. Lettermen Cameron Burrell, Issac Williams, and LeShon Collins, along with alumnus Chris Carter, will carry the banner of the Houston Cougars during the 10-day event.

Cameron Burrell

Photo courtesy of University of Houston

Athletics Communications. 

Burrell, who is the son of Houston head coach Leroy Burrell, will compete in the 100-meter dash. He is seed 32^nd in the event with the time of 10.16 seconds. The top seed is Justin Gatlin with the time of 9.77. Gatlin, who runs for Nike, is the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the event. He earned a bronze medal in the same event in the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

LeShon Collins

Photo courtesy of University of Houston

Athletics Communications. 

Collins will also be competing in the 100-meters, in which he is the 31^st seed with the time of 10.15. In addition, he will run the 200-meters. In the longer event, he is seeded 32^nd with the time of 20.43. Gatlin is also the top seed in the 200-meters with the time of 19.74.

Isaac Williams

Photo courtesy of University of Houston

Athletics Communications. 

The 110-meter hurdles will be the lone event for Williams. His time of 13.43 seeds him 11^th in the heats with Adidas’ Aleec Harris holding the top time of 13.11. Carter, who will compete in the triple jump, has the fifth longer lead of all qualifiers with the distance of 17.12 meters (56 feet, 2 inches). The top triple jumper is Nike’s Christian Taylor at 17.76 meters (58 feet 3 inches).