University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener
Strong Start for Huskies at BU Opener
12/7/2019 10:45:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
BOSTON, Mass. – The UConn men's track and field team got their first chance to compete this season by taking part in the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Saturday. The Huskies got off to a strong start to their season and have set the standard for
"The men's team, the question for me was are we going to assert ourselves and look like the team we think we can be," stated director of cross country and track & field Greg Roy. "We have been building this thing for a few years, and by and large we looked like that team we want to be today. I thought we looked really, really strong. It was a good start."
"I looked at this meet last year compared to this year, and we were significantly better from a year ago," commented Roy. "The veterans were veterans and showed progress and the frosh weren't afraid. Some of these guys are going to contribute as well."
The Husky throwers had a great day, winning both the shot put and weight throw events. In the shot put, UConn had the top-two finishers in sophomore Matthew Brady (Biddeford, Maine) and junior Todd Stueber (Toms River, N.J.) and sophomore Michael Jeffers (Clifton Park, N.Y.) came in fourth. Brady, fighting an illness throught out the event, battled to a win with a throw of 16.66 meters (54'8.00"). Stueber had a second-place finish with his throw of 15.88 meters (52'1.25").
In the weight throw, the one-two combo of grad student Sebastian Castano (Cresskill, N.J.) and senior Cameron Thompson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) took the top-two spots with Stueber nabbing the fifth spot. Castano claimed the top-spot with a throw of 18.01 meters (59'01.25").  Thompson was second at 17.75 meters (58'3.00") and Stueber was fifth at 15.13 meters (49'7.75"), a new personal best toss.
In the high jump, junior Daniel Claxton (Nesconsent, N.Y.) backed-up his win here last year by grabbing the top-spot again on Saturday. Claxton cleared a height of 2.10 meters (6'10.75"). Freshman David Ajama (Lowell, Mass.) made his collegiate debut and took the second-place spot behind Claxton. Ajama cleared a mark of 2.05 meters (6'8.75") in his first competition.
On the track, junior Safir Scott (Greenwich, Conn.) ran the 400 meters for the first time at UConn and turned in an event winning time of 48.24 seconds. Behind Scott was freshman Joseph O'Brien (Shrewsbury, Mass.) who clocked a 48.57 second finish. In third was sophomore Gregory Clark (Quaker Hill, Conn.) with a time of 49.32 seconds.
In the 60-meter dash, sophomores Josiah Thompson (Jamaica, N.Y.) and Myles Calhoun (Henrietta, N.Y.) just missed the top-spot, clocking in at new personal best times of 6.85 and 6.86 seconds, respectively, just off BU's Chiebuka Onwuzurike mark of 6.82 seconds. Both came back in the 200 meters with Calhoun taking second place at 21.61 seconds and Thomspon in fifth at 22.19 seconds, both personal bests as well. In the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore Xavier Smith (West Windsor, N.J.) posted a win, topping the field with a time of 8.22 seconds. Smith had the top-qualifying time as well in the prelims, clocking 8.24 seconds.Â
Sophomore Wellington Ventura (Cresskill, N.J.) ran the 600 meters on Saturday and was second overall with a time of 1:18.78 seconds. Junior Colt Nichols (Portsmouth, R.I.) was seventh with a time clocking of 1:20.94. In the 800 meters, UConn grabbed the fourth through sixth spots with freshman Marzio Mastroianni (Branford, Conn.) finishing in 1:54.22, junior Omar Gebril (North Haven, Conn.) was 1:54.91 and freshman Stephen Sutton (Tolland, Conn.) was 1:55.07.
Junior Tyler Gleen (Trumbull, Conn.) ran in third in the 1000 meters, clocking in at 2:26.42, a new personal best in the event. Gleen was joined by Nichols, Ventura and O'Brien on the Huskies' 4x400 meter winning relay team. The foursome posted a time of 3:14.59.
"It's been an amazing three or four months since we combined the programs. Seeing the athletes today really supporting each other in a way that will help us to keep building this culture, that was great. Holding each other accountable, and finding motivation and pushing each other.  They are making each better. This has been a great experience and I am really excited for where we are headed."
"On the women's side, we have some intermediate goals for heading towards the conference meet and we are in position to achieve those. We have to learn how to win as a team, build this team and build the culture. And all those things showed today. We had a great UConn team presence today."
"We competed hard and well and were aggressive and not afraid. A lot of good things all around."   I was pretty excited. Mikyla Rodger in the shot put, we were excited for her first collegiate win. Kristina Cherrington ran up to the 800 meters today and did a great job."
Players Mentioned
