University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener
Huskies Ready to Get Started at BU Season Opener
12/6/2019 11:31:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
STORRS, Conn. – The UConn track & field program will get a chance to get their first taste of competition this Saturday as the Huskies head to the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at BU's Track & Tennis Center.
The one-day meet has no team scoring and will feature over 850 student-athletes from some of the top programs around the nation. Admission to the event at BU is free and fans can also watch all the action live on FloTrack.com. Live Results for the meet are also available on Lancer Timing Services.
Most importantly, Saturday's meet will give the coaches and the Huskies a chance to see where they stand after their fall semester training.
"If you want to call it something, this is a final exam for fall track and field," Director of cross-country and track & field Greg Roy. "How much development have you had this fall? What has the fall program netted for you? We are not going to be razor sharp but at the same time, we are backing off the training a bit so we can get out there and perform without having training being an issue.
"For the non-cross country athletes, this is a big deal and for the cross-country runners, this will be as well. Many of the distance runners will use this to get a qualifying mark for the New England Championships and then go back into a training cycle. For everyone else, this definitely a big deal. They are excited and can't wait to get going. After this weekend, we will have a good idea of where we are."
The Huskies will send a full complement of student-athletes to Boston on Saturday as the team gets to compete for the first time during track season as a "single unit" after merging the men's and women's programs together during the summer.
"As the program director, I am looking for to seeing what we look like as a program, as a team," stated Roy. "We have two teams, loading the buses side by side. This is all new for me and for everyone in the program. With two teams, and two different identities, those identities will begin to surface this weekend with our heptathlon and this meet up at BU. This is one of the best tracks in the country."
For the UConn men, the Huskies are looking to repeat many of their success from last indoor season where they claimed their second-straight IC4A indoor title, won the program's 24th New England Championship and claimed a team title at the Harvard Beantown Challenge. The Huskies are also looking to make some noise at their final American Athletic Conference championship appearance as well in 2020.
The Huskies have plenty of scoring experience back this winter to lead the way. Senior Kyle Brackman (Berkley Heights, N.J.), who did not compete in cross-country this fall, has been building toward this weekend's event all semester and will run in the 5,000 meters. "Kyle, a fifth-year senior, big scorer for us at AAC championships, finished his cross c9untry eligibility and we decided to ramp right up to this meet this fall. He is in the hot section of the 5k and he is looking to take a shot at NCAA qualifying on day one, he's that kind of fit."
Junior Tyler Gleen (Trumbull, Conn.) will be running in the 1000 meters this weekend. The junior mid-distance runner is the defending AAC indoor champion in the 800 meters. He also won the 500 meters at least year's New England title race.
Sophomore Wellington Ventura (Cresskill, N.J.) had a great rookie season and is set to debut this weekend in the 600 meters and on a relay team.
In the field events, junior Daniel Claxton (Nesconset, N.Y.) returns after red-shirting last year's outdoor season. Claxton had four victories in the high jump last indoor season and is the defending champion at the event as well as at the New England and IC4A meets.
One of the Huskies top-athletes, junior Safir Scott (Greenwich, Conn.) will hit the track instead of the high jump on Saturday, running in the 400 meters as well as on a 4x400-relay team.
In the throws, UConn has experience back in senior Cameron Thompson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) in the weight throw and juniors Todd Stueber (Toms River, N.J.) and Matthew Brady (Biddeford, Maine) in the shot put. Thompson scored in the weight throw at last year's AAC indoor championship and recorded a new personal best last season as well at the Beantown Challenge.
Stueber was a scorer for UConn in the shot put in both the indoor and outdoor season and had a pair of victories in the event during the indoor season at meets hosted by URI.
Following Saturday's meet, the Huskies will break for final exams and the holidays before returning to re-start the indoor season on January 11 at the Harvard Beantown Challenge.
Players Mentioned
