University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Larry Ellis Invitational
UConn Heading to Princeton this Weekend
4/18/2019 1:14:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
STORRS, Conn. – The UConn men's track & field team will head to Princeton University this weekend for the Larry Ellis Invitational as they enter their final prep for 2019 American Athletic Conference Championship in May.
"We definitely have a switch in message this week," stated head coach Greg Roy. "Everything is a little sharper, crisper and more focused. Let's knock away any static. This is where we are, here is where we need to be and what can we do in the next three weeks to get us there."
The Huskies are coming off a big weekend where they dominated a 10-team field with six individual titles in winning their lone home meet of the season, the Northeast Challenge. The other big news coming out of last weekend was the Huskies electing their team captains for 2019. Seniors Kyle Barber (Fayetteville, N.Y.), Ian Bergere (Madison, Conn.), Kyle Brackman (Berkeley Heights, N.J.), Michael McGonnigle (New Fairfield, Conn.), and Malik Snead (Trenton, N.J.) were all elected captains for the 2019 outdoor season.
In the throws, the trio of senior Sebastian Castano (Cresskill, N.J.) and sophomores Todd Stueber (Toms River, N.J.) and Matthew Brady (Biddeford, Maine) have been piling up solid peformances all spring. Steuber got his first career win in the discus last weekend and did it with a new personal best (51.74 m). Brady set a new personal best in the shot put and finished second overall. Brady posted a throw of 17.51 meters (57'5.50"), and is up to fourth in the AAC rankings.
On the track, sophomore Tyler Gleen (Shelton, Conn.) is back running the 800 meters this week, an event he is at the top of the AAC rankings in. He also ranks 18th in the NCAA rankings. Freshman Wellington Ventura (Cresskill, N.J.) will jump back into the 400 meters this weekend, an event he ranks 10th overall in the AAC.
Brackman will run the 5,000 meters this weekend with sophomore Ian Mickool (Ridgefield, Conn.). Brackman is currently second in the event on the AAC performance list this spring. The senior duo of Barber and McGonnigle will run the 3,000 meter steeplechase, were they rank fourth and 12th, respectively, in the AAC.
In the jumps, Snead is coming off his best jump of the season in the triple jump last weekend, 15.66 meters, and ranks atop the AAC list and 18th in the nation. Sophomore Safir Scott (Greenwich, Conn.) is atop the high jump rankings, and posted his second win of the spring last weekend. Bergere is fifth in the AAC in the pole vault and also is coming off his best height (4.92 m) and a win last weekend.
Junior Jordan Torney (Toms River, N.J.) returns this week to run the 110 meter hurdles and compete in the long jump after a week off.
Players Mentioned
