HOUSTON Ã¢â‚¬" Led by four programs scoring record highs, the Houston Athletics Department posted its best finish since 2000 in the Learfield Directors' Cup Thursday as it finished 73rd with 296.5 points. The point total is the second highest in school history behind only the 313 following the 1999-2000 academic year.

Houston was led by its Football (70.5), Men's Outdoor Track & Field (66.75), Men's Indoor Track & Field (57.75) and Women's Golf (47.5) programs, which all set record point totals in their respective sports, while Men's Golf also added 54 points to comprise the final 296.5 points.

The Houston Football program posted the best score among the Cougars' programs with a 38-24 win over Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl en route to finishing eighth in the final Associated Press poll, its highest finish since finishing No. 5 in 1979.

Houston was the only school nationally to finish in the top 10 in both football and men's outdoor track & field as the Men's Outdoor Track & Field program tied for 10th overall in Eugene, Ore., its highest finish since taking seventh in 1985.

The Men's Track & Field program also set a best during the indoor season when it tied for 16th overall at the NCAA Indoor Championships, its highest indoor finish since finishing fourth in 1996.

The Houston Men's Golf program extended its department-best streak of scoring in the Director's Cup scoring to five years when it finished in a tie for 19th at the NCAA Championships, one stroke shy of advancing to the fourth round of the event.

On the women's side, the Houston Women's Golf program scored for the second consecutive year of eligible competition, finishing seventh at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional, just one shot from advancing to the NCAA Championships in only its second year of team competition. The program did see freshman Leonie Harm advance as an individual to the NCAA Championships only five months after arriving on campus as a mid-year enrollee.

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