University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener
Track and Field Opens Indoor Season
12/1/2018 8:32:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
BOSTON, Mass. - The UConn men's track and field team kicked-off their indoor season on Saturday taking part in the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at Boston University.
"We had a ton of young kids and we really wanted to see what they could do against what is a really good competition up there and we're pretty happy," commented head coach Greg Roy. "Our kids competed well against good competition."
In the field events, the Huskies had fourth and seventh place finishes in the triple jump. Junior Ivan Nyemeck (Quebec City, Quebec) had a leap of 47'9.75" and senior Malik Snead (Trenton, N.J.) four spots behind with a jump of 44' (13.41m).
Four Huskies were in the top-six in the pole vault led by sophomore Marc DeLuca (Stamford, Conn.) who came in second, clearing the bar at 15'9 (4.80m). Senior Ian Bergere (Madison, Conn.) was second with a height of 15'9 (4.80m) and freshman Tyler Hrbek (Northvale, N.J.) and sophomore Devon McShane (Madison, Conn.) in fifth and sixth with heights of 15'3 (4.65m) and 14'9 (4.50m), respectively.
Sophomore Daniel Claxton (Nesconset, N.Y.) placed first in the high jump clearing the bar at 6'6.75" (2.00m).
In the shot put, UConn sophomore Todd Stueber (Toms River, N.J.) qualified for the finals and finished in ninth with a heave of 49'.25" (14.94m).Â
On the track, UConn put two runners in the top-six of the 600-meter final led by sophomore Colt Nichols (Portsmouth, R.I.) who finished in 1:21.64 for second place. Following Nichols in sixth was sophomore Connor Blodgett (Hartford, Conn.) at 1:23.49.
In the 1,000-meters UConn had five runners finish in the top-ten led by redshirt sophomore Eric Van Der Els (Norwalk, Conn.) who finished in 2:23.83 for first place. Following directly behind Van Der Els in second was senior PJ Garmon (Billerica, Mass.) at 2:26.41. Sophomore Tyler Gleen (Shelton, Conn.), redshirt sophomore Brian Cammillieri (Pearl River, N.Y.) and sophomore Joshua Bedard (Tolland, Conn.) finished in fourth, eighth and 10th with times of 2:27.59, 2:29.21 and 2:30.27, respectively. The 3,000-meters had a pair of Huskies in the top-ten as well with redshirt senior Patrick Begley (Suffield, Conn.) clinching fourth with a time of 8:13.12 and redshirt senior Michael McGonnigle (New Fairfield, Conn.) taking eighth at 8:21.33.
Finishing in the top-seven of the 400m dash was freshman Noah Woodman (Hampstead, N.H.), freshman Wellington Ventura (Creeskill, N.J.), senior Kyle Trocki (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and freshman Adam Khriss (Secaucus, N.J.) coming in second, third, fifth and seventh who clocked in with times of 47.64, 48.30, 49.16 and 49.81, respectively.
"We came out of this thinking that we can be a pretty good team," said Roy. "We just have to progress from here. We have six weeks and good data to go on so we'll sit down on Monday and figure out what we need to get done but this was certainly a good start."
Before Saturday's season opening meet, the Huskies also announced that seniors Begley and Snead have been named team captains for the 2018-19 indoor season.
"Two of the toughest competitors we've had here in a long time," commented Roy. "Both Patrick and Malik are great kids and great students who lead by example. They walk the walk, don't need to talk the talk.
The Huskies return to action next Thursday, Dec. 6 - Friday, Dec. 7 at the UConn Multi-Event.
Players Mentioned
