University of Connecticut Athletics
Men's Track and Field Selects 2015 Indoor Captains
12/12/2015 12:00:00โฏAM | Men's Track and Field
STORRS, Conn. - With the 2016 indoor season set to begin in less than five weeks, four seniors, Chris Ackell, Selwyn Maxwell, Oluwatosin Edwards, and Ned Wilson were named as captains for the upcoming campaign, as announced by head coach Greg Roy on Saturday.
"This group of Captains reflects the strength of a large Senior Class that looks to become the first class to graduate having won a Conference Championship 4 years in a row," said Roy. "I've had the honor being the event Coach for all of these men at different times in their careers, and can say with certainty that the combination of talent, work ethic, competitiveness and character reflected by these Captains is unparalleled."
UConn will open up its indoor campaign on Saturday, Jan. 9 when it travels to New Haven, Conn. for the Yale Invitational. The Huskies will look to improve upon a third-place finish at the 2015 American Athletic Conference indoor championship. Connecticut is competing in its third season in The American and searching for its second league indoor title in its new conference after collecting the inaugural crown in 2014.
The 2015 outdoor hammer throw conference champion, Ackell earns distinction as a captain for the first time in his five-year career. The Brookfield, Conn. native helped the Huskies capture their fifth-ever outdoor conference crown and earned a top-30 finish in the hammer at the outdoor NCAA East Regionals. During the 2015 indoor season, he collected a seventh-place finish at The American championship with a career-best 17.82m weight throw result.
Maxwell returns to his role as captain after a strong redshirt-junior campaign that saw him compete at the outdoor NCAA Regionals. Maxwell ran a sub-14 second 110HH at The American outdoor championship in Storrs on his way to a silver medal before finishing 21st at regionals two weeks later. During the indoor season, he finished fourth in the 60H and won the event at the Sykes and Sabock Challenge in early February. He was one of 19 men's track and field athletes honored by The American for academic excellence in 2015.
Edwards put together a stellar junior season in 2015, highlighted by a gold-medal performance in the weight-throw at the American Athletic Conference indoor championship with a career-best 19.91m toss. A week later, the Windsor, Conn. native followed up the performance with a third-place finish at the IC4A championship. In the outdoor season, he grabbed a top-10 performance in the hammer throw and also nabbed 13th in the shot put at the league meet. Additionally, he turned in a 14th-place finish in the hammer throw at the Florida Relays.
Wilson, who also served as one of three tri-captains for the 2015 cross country team, resumes his role as leader entering his final season of eligibility. During the 2015 outdoor season, Wilson collected a pair of top-10 finishes at The American championship, finishing fifth in the 10,000m run and grabbing a seventh-place finish in the 3,000m run. He also scored for the Huskies during the indoor league meet, nabbing fourth in the 5,000m run with a 14:53.26 time. Off the track, he is a two-time American Athletic Conference All-Academic team member.
With the exception of first-timer Ackell, all of these seniors are all second year Captains," added Roy. "They are all outstanding athletes and hold equally impressive academic accolades."
