University of Connecticut Athletics
Three Medals Highlight Day Two at AAC Championships
5/11/2019 9:35:00โฏPM | Men's Track and Field
WICHITA, Kans. โ The second day of the 2019 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championship wrapped on Saturday night and a trio of Huskies took home medals.ย The Huskies will head into the final day of competition on Sunday currently in third place in the nine-team field.
"Clearly a meet where you come, and don't just look at the seeding and think, that's the way its going to go," stated head coach Greg Roy.ย "This has been a wild two days and I think we are doing a solid job, competing really well."
"I told the team, we have 20 scoring opportunities left tomorrow and if we take advantage, we will end up going home having had a heck of a weekend," commented Roy.ย "We need to take advantage of those chances.ย You know Houston is going to come charging and Wichita State is having a heck of meet.ย Then you have Cincy and us. Who's going to take advantage, that's question."
UConn junior Jordan Torney (Toms River, N.J.) took home the silver medal in the decathlon and did it by winning five of the 10 events and posting a new personal best with 7,231 points.ย After winning the 100 meter dash, the long jump and the 400 meters on Friday, Torney came back on Saturday and won the 110 meter hurdles to start the day, setting a new AAC record in the event with a time of 14.35 seconds.ย
After a second place in the discus, Torney won the pole vaults with a new personal best height of 4.55 meters (14'11").ย For Torney, it is his first career AAC medal as he improves over his sixth place finish in the decathlon at last season's event.
Senior Malik Snead (Trenton, N.J.) took home a bronze on Saturday, using his best jump of the season to claim a medal in the long jump.ย Snead, who came in ranked 10th in the AAC in the event, jumped all the way up to third on the podium thanks to a leap of 7.34 meters (24'1").ย This was his fifth career AAC medal and his first in the long jump.ย Snead will compete in the triple jump on Sunday, an event he leads the AAC rankings in coming in.
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, senior Michael McGonnigle (New Fairfield, Conn.) was the bronze medal winner.ย McGonnigle grabbed third place overall with a time of 9:04.04, earning him his first career AAC medal at an outdoor event, and his second overall (Distance Medley Relay/2016 AAC Indoor Championship).
Sophomore Benjamin Grosse (Wayzata, Minn.) also put up a new personal best point total in the decathlon, claiming 6,756 points on the weekend.ย Grosse won the high jump on Friday and turned in 400 meters (50.86) and the 1,500 meters (4:40.32).
The Huskies grabbed points in the shot put as sophomore Todd Stueber (Toms River, N.J.) took home a seventh place finish with a throw of 16.70 meters (54'9.50").
Sophomore Eric van der Els (Norwalk, Conn.), who already qualified for the finals in the 800 meters, will also run in the finals of the 1,500 meters on Sunday. Van der Els had the fifth fastest time in the prelims, clocking a 3:55.14 to move on to the finals.
Freshman Noah Woodman (Hampstead, N.H.) earned himself a spot in the finals of the 400 meters on Sunday, coming in with the eighth fastest prelim time.ย Woodman turned in a time of 48.01 on Saturday.
A pair of Huskies earned their way to the finals of the 110-meter hurdles in sophomore Oluwatomide Alao (Jamaica, N.Y.) and freshman Xavier Smith (West Windsor, N.J.). Alao came in seventh in the prelims with a time of 14.51 seconds while Smith grabbed the final spot in the finals by taking eighth with a time 14.53 seconds.
UConn has collected 42 points through seven of 21 scored events, trailing the host Wichita State Shockers in first with 87 points and Cincinnati in second with 51 points.
The 2019 outdoor championship wraps up on Sunday and will get underway at 2:30 pm in the field with the high jump. On the track, the 4x100 relay at 4:30 pm.ย
