Track and Field Hits the Road

The University of Houston track and field team made its first road trip of 2008 this past weekend. The Cougars traveled to Arkansas for the Arkansas Invitational, site of the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships. The Cougars were one of 43 schools to compete in the two-day meet and posted 19 top-ten finishes.

Senior Ivan Diggs cleared 2.18 meters (7-01.75) to win the high jump at the Razorback Invitational. It is the second win in the high jump for the Wichita, Kan., native this season. Diggs was joined by freshman Chris Carter who set an NCAA provisional mark in the triple jump clearing 15.41m (50-06.75). The jump earned him fifth place and is currently the best jump in Conference USA.

In just his second collegiate long jump competition, freshman Ed Turner was eighth with a jump of 7.41m (24-03.75). His jump is currently the best in Conference USA. Senior Tremaine Smith was sixth in the 200 meters with a finish of 21.41. He also claimed eighth place in the 60-meter finals with a time of 6.85. Sophomore Brandon Hubbard added a fifth place finish in the weight throw (14.91m/48-11.00) and a sixth place finish in the shot put (14.33m/47-00.25).

On the women's side, the distance medley relay team finished fourth with a time of 12:27.54 and the 4x400 team finished ninth. Junior Seun Adigun paced the women in the running events, finishing eighth in the 60-meter hurdle finals. Senior Adriane Guinn was sixth in the 800 meters (2:17.73) and junior Jennifer Harper finished seventh.

In the field events, freshman Kiara Pulliam finished fifth in the shot put with a toss of 14.09m
(46-02.75). Freshman Laura Allred added a fifth place finish in the high jump, while senior Caresir Hamilton was eighth.

McIntyre Leads UH Women; UH Men to Face No.1 Memphis

Last week, senior guard Twiggy McIntyre was named the Conference USA Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the second time this month.

McIntyre averaged a league best 23.0 points per game and shot a solid .516 (16-of-31) from the field and .900 (9-of-10) from the free throw line. She also connected on five 3-pointers, dished out six assists and pocketed six steals while averaging 36 minutes per game.

McIntyre has helped lead Houston to a 5-1 start in league play with recent wins coming against Rice, UCF and Southern Miss. Houston snapped an eight-game road-league losing streak by knocking off UCF on Jan. 17. McIntyre scored 22 on nine field goals, including three treys as well as four rebounds, three assists and steals.

She also added a game-high 24 points in the team's win over Southern Miss on Jan 20. Prior to the Cougars’ 70-64 victory over Rice this past weekend, McIntyre was averaging 22 ppg, shooting over 50 percent from the field and was 39-of-41 (.951) from the line in the month of January.

For the season, she ranks third in the league in scoring (15.6 ppg) and free throw percentage (.861). McIntyre also appears among the Top 15 in six other categories including a current second place ranking in 3-pointers per game (2.21).

SPECIAL NOTE: The University of Houston Men’s Basketball team (15-3) will face the No. 1 ranked University of Memphis Tigers (18-0) on Wednesday, Jan. 30, at Hofheinz Pavilion. The matchup between C-USA rivals tips off at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on CSTV.

For the latest UH scores and athletics news, visit www.uh.edu/athletics.