University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Spec Towns Invitational
Solid Performances Highlight Close to Southern Schedule
4/6/2019 7:02:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
ATHENS, Ga. – The UConn men's track & field team sent out their biggest field of athletes to compete so far this spring, closing out the southern portion of the schedule this weekend at the Spec Towns Invitational at the University of Georgia.
Several Huskies made their outdoor debuts this weekend with plenty of personal bests on the results sheet as UConn will now head back north for the final push toward the 2019 American Athletic Conference Championships in May.
"We had a lot of guys out there this weekend and I thought we made some great progress." Commented head coach Greg Roy. "We got to see some great competition this weekend and overall, it was a really good southern season for us."
UConn junior Jordan Torney (Toms River, N.J.) got his first stab at the decathlon this outdoor season and set a new personal best with a total of 7,725 points. Torney had a pair of second place finishes, taking second in the 100 meter dash at 10.96 seconds and second in the 110meter hurdles at 14.60 seconds. Sophomore Benjamin Grosse (Wayzata, Minn.) got his first crack at a decathlon as a Husky and he put up 6,624 points including winning the high jump with a leap of 2.00 meters.
On Friday, sophomore Eric van der Els (Norwalk, Conn.) made his spring debut in the 1,500 meters and turned in the fastest time yet by a Husky this season. Van der Els posted a time of 3:52.61, winning the event. Senior PJ Garmon (Billerica, Mass.) also ran the event for the first time this season and posted a time of 3:54.94 to finish third. Freshman Joshua Bedard (Tolland, Conn.) made his outdoor track debut and posted a time of 3:55.81 while sophomore Tyler Gleen (Shelton, Conn.) posted a new personal best in the event at 4:00.84.
Garmon and Bedard ran in the 800 meters on Saturday and came in ninth and 10th, respectively, posting times of 1:55.47 and 1:55.84.
In the hammer, senior Sebastian Castano (Cresskill, N.J.) was third with a throw of 53.55 meters and then came back on Saturday to set a new personal best in the discus with a throw of 45.28 meters (148'7").
Sophomore Matthew Brady (Biddeford, Maine) recorded his best throw of the outdoor season in the shot put with a heave of 16.83 meters (55'2.75"), finishing fifth. Sophomore Todd Stueber (Toms River, N.J.) posted his best outing of the spring in the discus on Saturday, registering a throw of 49.48 meters (162'4"), coming close to a new personal best. In the shot put, Stueber was sixth with a throw of 16.60 meters (54'5.25").
Senior Ian Bergere (Madison, Conn.) posted his best height of the outdoor season so far at 4.90 meters, finishing third in the field. Malik Snead (Trenton, N.J.) picked-up a win in the triple jump with a jump of 15.26 meters (50'0.75"). Junior Nile Uzzell (Somerset, N.J.) competed for the first time in the event this spring and took sixth with a leap of 14.02 meters (46'0").
Freshman Konstantin Rust (Germany), had a pair of fourth place finishes and also recorded two new personal best times. Rust finished the 110 meter hurdles in a time of 14.35 seconds and then ran the 200 meters, finishing in 22.33 seconds.
Freshman Adam Khriss (Secaucus, N.J.) debuted this spring running in the 400-meter hurdles and clocked in with a time of 53.87, sixth in the field. In the 110 meter hurdles, joining Rust in the field was sophomore Oluwatomide Alao (Jamaica, N.Y.) and freshman Xavier Smith (West Windsor, N.J.). Alao posted a time of 14.55 seconds and Smith came in at 14.58 seconds, both new personal best performances.
Freshman Myles Calhoun (Henrietta, N.Y.) ran the 100 and 200 meters in his spring debut on Saturday. In the 200, he finished second with a time of 22.21 seconds and he was 11th in the 100 in 10.98 seconds.
Fellow rookies Noah Woodman (Hampstead, N.H.) and Wellington Ventura (Cresskill, N.J.) picked-up season-best times in the 400 meters. Woodman was sixth, running the event for the first time this spring in 47.78 seconds. Ventura topped his time from two weeks ago, running 10th in 48.36 seconds.
"We are going to be really happy to be home next week," said Roy. "I think we are in a good spot right now and looking forward to a good training week and some good local competition next weekend. Overall, it was a good southern season."
The Huskies are at home next Saturday, April 13 to host the annual Northeast Challenge at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex.
Players Mentioned
