University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Set For BIG EAST Indoor Championship
2/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
Feb. 18, 2011
STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut men's track and field team will head to Akron, Ohio this weekend for the 2011 BIG EAST Indoor Championship. The meet will take place on Saturday (Feb. 19) and Sunday (Feb. 20) in the Stile Athletics Field House on the University of Akron campus. The Huskies will be competing against 11 teams from the BIG EAST, including the reigning BIG EAST Indoor champions, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
"Whoever competes best head-to-head will come out on top this season," head coach Greg Roy said. "The lists don't mean anything at this point. We are looking for everyone to give championship performances and improve on their times. If they give their best that is all we can ask for. We have depth in a lot of events this season which will really help us in the end."
UConn enters the weekend as the top team in the Northeast Region according to the USTFCCCA Regional Index. The Huskies held on to their top spot for the fourth week in a row after a dominating performance at the Lafayette-Rider Invitational last weekend.
This season UConn has a well-rounded team, as the Huskies could take top honors in multiple events with 12 athletes ranking among the BIG EAST leaders in 10 events going into the championship.
"We have a lot of momentum going into the meet this weekend because we are coming off a great meet at the Lafayette-Rider Invitational," Roy said. "We got out really fast at the beginning of the season and then towards the middle we were sort of in a lull and we weren't improving as much as we would have liked. The last 10 days though have been great. We are backing off the hard training and everyone is pumped up because the time is here and that can only point to good things for this team."
One of the best track events for the Huskies will be the 800 meter run, with Mike Rutt, Dan Holst and Tim Bennatan all ranking in the top-five among conference competitors. Rutt, the 2009 champion in the event, will lead the charge as he ranks second with his NCAA qualifying time of 1:49.16 that he set at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational earlier this season.
Entering the meet, Kevin Steinberg owns the best time in the BIG EAST in the 60 meter dash and the 200 meter dash, while Kevin Smith is also at the top of the 200 meter dash for the Huskies. Steinberg's record setting 6.73 in the 60 meter dash that he recorded earlier this season puts him in a position to excel in both the 60 and 200 meter races.
The field events are where the Huskies hope to shine this year, as six of their top performances come in field events. UConn is led by Noel James in the high jump, Kyle Duggan in the pole vault and Mike Alleman in the shot put. James, the reigning BIG EAST Field Athlete of the Week, enters the meet ranked second in the high jump with a clearance of 2.15m which marked a season-best for the sophomore. Duggan returns as one of UConn's top athletes in the pole vault this season and comes into the conference championship ranked second, with a mark of 5.15m. Alleman is once again atop the rankings in the shot put, standing in second with his throw of 17.96m that he recorded earlier this season.
Aaron King and Joshua Faboyede are the final Huskies to rank in the top-five among BIG EAST competitors, with King ranking third in the long jump and Faboyede sitting fifth in the weight throw coming into this weekend's meet.
King will also be competing in the heptathlon for the Huskies, as he tries for his third BIG EAST title, also winning the heptathlon during the 2008 and 2009 seasons. King, who set a meet record in 2009 with 5,460 points, currently stands in second place in the conference with 5,413 points. UConn has two more athletes in the top five of the heptathlon, with Jesse Chapman sitting third with 5,057 points and Sam Smith in fourth with 4,745 points.
Action on Saturday will begin at 11:00 a.m. with the 60m dash of the men's heptathlon and will conclude with the finals of the men's distance medley relay at 5:40 p.m. The 60m hurdles of the men's heptathlon will be the first event on Sunday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. and the men's 4x400 meter relay will be the final event of the day, starting at 2:45 p.m. A complete schedule of events can be found HERE. Fans can also watch a live stream of the BIG EAST Indoor Championships by clicking the link that is listed at the top of the page, or by clicking HERE.
Players Mentioned
