PREVIEW: Tom Tellez Alumni Invitational Set for Friday, Saturday; Statue Unveiling Friday

HOUSTON – The University of Houston Track & Field program will honor legendary former head coach Tom Tellez with a statue and garden at the Carl Lewis International Complex as it hosts the Tom Tellez Alumni Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The unveiling ceremony will take place at 6:15 p.m., Friday.

Meet action will begin with field events at 12:30 p.m., Friday, followed by running events at 2 p.m. Saturday action will start with field events at 10:30 a.m., and running events at 1:30 p.m.

Tickets for the meet can be purchased at the baseball ticket office 60 minutes before the first event of the day. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children ages 3-12. Children 2 and under are free and are required to sit in the lap of a parent or guardian.

TOM TELLEZ ALUMNI INVITATIONAL
Date \| Time	Friday \| Field: 12:30 p.m.\| Running: 2 p.m. \| Projected Finish: 3:30 p.m. Saturday \| Field: 10:30 a.m. \| Running: 1:30 p.m. \| Projected Finish: 5:15 p.m.
Watch	YouTube \| Friday and Saturday
Location	Carl Lewis International Complex \| Houston, Texas
Live Stats	Results
Meet Information	Meet Information
Social Media	X: @uhcougartf \| Instagram: @uhcougartf \| Facebook: H-Town Speed City Track and Field \| #GoCoogs \| #HTownSpeedCity

IN THE RANKINGS

In the first USTFCCA national outdoor rankings of the season, the men's squad is ranked No. 6 in the nation.
Sophomore Antrea Mita was named the Big 12 Men's Track & Field Athlete of the Week following his victory at Texas Relays.
The men's team has several event squads ranked in the top-10 nationally, including the 400-meter hurdles group, which is No. 1, and the 110-meter hurdles squad, ranked second. The high jumpers and the 400-meter team are both fourth, while the 100-meter team is eighth.
The women's 100-meter hurdles squad is fourth in the nation and the pole vaulters are ranked tenth.

LAST TIME OUT

At Texas Relays, Mita made his outdoor season debut with a victory in the men's high jump with an outdoor personal best mark of 2.21m.
Junior Anthony Trucks won the men's 110-meter hurdles timed final as he lowered his career best clocking 13.76.
At the Victor Lopez Invitational, freshman Tirea Reed earned her first outdoor victory in the women's discus with a mark of 50.02m.
Redshirt freshman Ty Lott won the men's hammer throw on his fourth attempt with a personal best mark of 58.64m. He moved up to fifth on Houston's all-time list with his performance.
Senior Kevin Snyder won the men's long jump with a personal best mark in the long jump at 7.60m.
In the women's pole vault, freshman Kaylee Daniel cleared 3.74m to enter Houston's all-time outdoor performance list at No. 10.
The Cougars dominated the men's 110-meter hurdles with senior Tyler Graves leading the sweep in 14.36. Sophomore Gerardo Mejia and freshman Noah Hanson followed closely, finishing in 14.50 and 14.52, respectively. Graves posted a second place finish in the men's 400-meter hurdles at 51.92.
In the men's 400m, freshman Jaylin Santiago claimed the victory with a time of 47.05.
The Cougars swept the men's and women's 4x400-meter relays. The men clocked 3:12.04 for first place and the women secured the victory at 3:48.16.

ABOUT TOM TELLEZ
In 1976, Tellez became the second head coach in Houston Track & Field history where he served for 22 years until his retirement in 1998.

Tellez began his coaching career in California as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Whittier College, and was later named the head coach at Buena Park High School. He soon moved on to coaching positions at Fullerton Junior College in California and UCLA, where he was the field events coach.

During his time with the Cougars, Tellez founded the Women's Track & Field program and led Houston to a total of 13 team conference championship titles and 30 NCAA Individual National Championships.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Tellez also doubled as a coach for the Santa Monica Track Club, which produced some of the world's leading competitors.
His most notable athlete was nine-time Olympic Gold Medalist and current Houston Track & Field Head Coach Carl Lewis.

Tellez coached numerous Olympians, including former Houston Track & Field Head Coach Leroy Burrell, along with Willie Banks, Kirk Baptiste, James Butts, Greg Caldwell, Joe DeLoach, Paula Jordan, Carol Lewis, Pete Shmock, Dwight Stones, Mike Tully, Michelle Finn-Burrell, Frank Rutherford and many others.

Along with coaching Olympians, Tellez served as an assistant coach on the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympic Teams, coaching throwing events in 1980 and jumps in 1984. He was the head coach of the United States Track and Field team at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo.

Tellez was inducted into the Houston Athletics Hall of Honor in 2002. He was also inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross County Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Hall of Fame (2000) and the Texas Track & Field Coaches Hall of Fame (2011).

The Tom Tellez Track at Carl Lewis International Complex at the University of Houston is named after Tellez. His son, Kyle Tellez, currently serves as the Associate Head Coach for the Houston Track & Field program.

SUPPORT YOUR COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Track and Field by supporting LinkingCoogs – UH's very own NIL collective – and by joining the Podium Club which provides support directly to Houston Track and Field for needs beyond its operating budget.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates on #HTownSpeedCity by following @UHCougarTF on X and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarTF or on the team's Instagram page at @uhcougartf.

– UHCougars.com –

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