Sydni Townsend, who has broken the 400-meter hurdles school record is the only UH runner in the women's NCAA championships.For 32 years, Sandra Glover’s 400-meter hurdles record at the University of Houston stood the test of time.
Townsend, a senior from Philadelphia, ran 55.99 seconds — nearly a full second faster than Glover’s time — to finish second at the American Athletic Conference outdoor championships. Less than two weeks later, Townsend won her heat at the NCAA West Preliminary Round with a time of 55.79, the fifth-fastest in the nation this season.
“I definitely want to let people know I deserve to be here and that I can run low 55 and possibly 54 and be in the top eight,” Townsend said. “I was stuck at 57 and 58 for a couple weeks,” Townsend said. “I thought I would just go to 56, but then I was very surprised when I was at 55.99. I skipped a whole second. I was very surprised.”“I think she got the jitters out of the way at regionals,” said Glover, who returned to her alma mater as assistant coach in 2021. “I’m pretty sure she’s going to be more relaxed. Regionals was very, very, very nervous. I was nervous. I think she has calmed down quite a bit. She knows to execute.