University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Look Forward to Weekend at Historic Armory in NYC
1/24/2019 4:09:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
Live Results | Live Video Stream | Armory Website
STORRS, Conn. – The UConn men's track & field team heads to New York City and the historic Armory Track to take part in the Columbia Challenge. The Huskies have enjoyed success at the historic Armory in the past, claiming the inaugural American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship at the venue in 2014.
"The Armory is such a great venue with the tradition and the history there," commented UConn head coach Greg Roy. "Many of our kids know all about it and have competed there when they were in high school. It's just such a fantastic venue. Those mezzanine bleachers are right on top of the track. Feels like its right on top of you and there is just a ton of energy in the place. It's like playing in Madison Square Garden for us."
The Huskies will see a deep and diverse field of teams from all around the country in the Big Apple this weekend as they compete against the likes of host Columbia, Albany, BYU, Duke, Florida State, Iona, LIU Brooklyn, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, St. John's, South Carolina, Syracuse, UCLA, Villanova and Virginia. Fans can follow can catch the action live on USTAF.TV
 "This weekend is about the chance to get into a different arena and compete in an environment that we aren't used to," commented Roy. "For all of our young guys competing, this is an opportunity to see how they react. Seeing teams that they never really see, from the west coast and all over the country."Â
"For our top competitors, it is an opportunity to face top, top competition," said the head coach. "In many events, we will see the best competition we've seen so far this year and probably won't again until we get to the conference meet and some cases beyond. There will be some national level athletes that you won't see again until the NCAAs."
UConn will have large contingents ready to go in both the 400 and 800 meters. In the 400, freshman Wellington Ventura (Cresskill, N.J.) has the fifth fastest time in the American Athletic Conference this indoor season, a 48.30 second clocking at the BU season opener. In the 800 meters, sophomore Brian Camillieri (Pearl River, N.Y.) and freshman Joseph Pearl (Manchester, Conn.) are both set to compete and rank in the top-10 in the conference this season. Camillieri ran a 1:53.86 at URI and is seventh while Pearl is ninth after a 1:54.55 also at URI.
In the mile, sophomore Eric van Der Els (Norwalk, Conn.) will look to improve on his season best time of 4:11.58 at the Beantown Challenge that has him ranked fourth in the AAC this season. Senior Michael McGonnigle (New Fairfield, Conn.) will run the 3,000 meters, an event he owns the third fastest time in the AAC this season at 8:21.33 in the BU opener.
In the high jump, sophomore Daniel Claxton (Nesconset, N.Y.) is back in the line-up after a week off. He currently has the second best height this year in the AAC at 2.13 meters (6'11.75"). Senior Ian Bergere (Madison, Conn.) enters the weekend third in the pole vault at 5.05 meters (16'6.75").
Senior Malik Snead (Trenton, N.J.), who has the top triple jump this season in the AAC, will take part in the long jump for the first time this year. Junior Ivan Nyemeck (Quebec City, Quebec) will take part in the triple jump, where he ranks fifth in the conference thanks to a 14.57 meter (47'9.75") leap at the BU meet.
"It's an exciting meet and a great opportunity for everyone," stated the head coach. "We feel like we got off on the right foot in the Beantown a couple of weeks ago and New England Championships next week is our next big test."Â
Players Mentioned
