UH qualifies 7 more for NCAA outdoor meet
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The University of Houston added seven more qualifiers for the NCAA outdoor championships on Friday night.
Kahmari Montgomery and Obi Igbokwe punched tickets to nationals in the 400-meter run at the West Regional prelims. Montgomery won his heat with a time of 44.78 seconds, breaking his program and American Athletic Conference record with the thirdfastest in the nation. Igbokwe won his heat with a time of 45.35.
Amere Lattin set a program record with a time of 49.45 in the 400-meter hurdles and will be joined at nationals by teammate Quivell Jordan. Lattin also advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals in the 110 hurdles with a time of 13.77.
After qualifying six in the 100, the Cougars will send two to nationals — Mario Burke and Travis Collins. Burke posted the third-fastest time Friday at 10.08.
UH will send five to Saturday’s quarterfinals in the men’s 200 — Mario Burke, Kahmari Montgomery, Edward Sumler IV, Nicholas Alexander and Jordan Booker.
Sam Houston State’s Chris Jefferson and Jo’vaughn Martin were also among the 24 spots to advance.
The Bearkats will send two to nationals — Joshua Smith in the 110 hurdles and Chris Jefferson in the 400.
On the women’s side for Houston, Ashley Seymour qualified for nationals with a time of 11.40 in the 100. Naomi Taylor advanced to the quarterfinals in the 110 hurdles with a time of 13.13.
The NCAA outdoor championships are June 5-8 at Austin.
UT tops Bama to even series
Mary Iakopo hit a threerun homer and MK Tedder added a solo shot to lead Texas past Alabama 7-5 in an NCAA softball super regional at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Longhorns (46-16) and Crimson Tide (55-8) play again at 1 p.m. Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Women’s College World Series.
The game briefly was interrupted by a scary incident in the second inning when UT pitcher Miranda Elish was struck in the face by a ball thrown by Iakopo, her catcher.
Athletic trainers and medical personnel tended to Elish in the pitcher’s circle. She was helped off the field and taken to a local hospital as a precaution.
Shealyn O’Leary replaced Elish, who had pitched every inning of Texas’ four elimination games in the regionals, as the Longhorns rallied from a 4-0 deficit to win and extend their season.
Iakopo’s homer came in the third inning, and Tedder tied the game in the fourth.
A&M golfers tied for fifth at NCAA
Texas A&M is tied for fifth after the first round of the NCAA men’s golf championship at Fayetteville, Ark.
The Aggies are tied with Wake Forest at 8-over-par 296, which is six strokes behind Oklahoma State. Texas is in eighth place at 298. SMU is tied for 19th at 308. TCU is tied for 24th at 311, and Baylor is 29th in the 30-team field at 314.
Walker Lee was the low scorer among A&M’s contingent with a 1-under 71. He is four shots behind first-round leader Collin Morikawa of California. Texas’ Parker Coody is tied for 12th at 72.
Kansas’ De Sousa eligible to play
Kansas forward Silvio De Sousa will be eligible to play next season after the NCAA’s reinstatement committee agreed with an appeal filed by the school.
The NCAA had declared De Sousa ineligible this past season and next season in early February.
The punishment came after De Sousa’s named surfaced last summer in an FBI probe into corruption in college basketball. The NCAA found that Fenny Falmagne, De Sousa’s guardian,had received a $2,500 payment from a “university booster and agent” and agreed to an additional $20,000 payment from the same individual and an Adidas employee for securing his commitment to Kansas.
The school appealed the decision, and the NCAA said it had “determined additional relief was appropriate.”
De Sousa declared for next month’s NBA draft but said he would return to Kansas if he could play next season.
Clemson players lose NCAA appeal
Clemson tight end Braden Galloway and offensive lineman Zach Giella will miss next season after an NCAA panel rejected the school’s appeal of their drug suspension.
Clemson athletic spokesman Jeff Kallin said the school learned of the NCAA decision Wednesday. The school issued a statement that it is disappointed in the ruling and continues “to believe our student-athletes did not knowingly ingest any banned substances.”
However, Kallin said the school does not plan further action.
The positive drug tests for Galloway, Giella and ex-Clemson defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence were announced in December while the Tigers were preparing to play Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. They were suspended and missed the College Football Playoff games, including the national championship game when the Tigers beat Alabama 44-16.