University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Boston University David Hemry Valentine Invitational
Huskies Conclude Regular Season at Valentine Invite
2/15/2020 9:53:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
BOSTON, Mass. – The UConn men's track and field team closed out the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Saturday with several top-performances highlighted by Myles Calhoun and Eric Van Der Els.
The Huskies entered this weekend as the top-ranked men's program in the Northeast in the latest USTFCCCA regional rankings. UConn used Saturday's annual meet as their final tune-up before competing at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship in two weeks.
The Huskies are currently the #1 ranked team in the northeast region. UConn has held the top spot in the northeast since the beginning of the indoor season.
"It was a really productive meet today. You can see the movement by our guys on the conference list," stated director of cross country and track & field Greg Roy. "Myles [Calhoun] in the dash, Joey [O'Brien] in the 200, all the 400 runners led by Wellington [Ventura] and Safir [Scott]. Eric [Van Der Els] moved to the top of the list in the mile. Our weights also had a really great day."
"Tyler [Hrbek] got off the injured reserve in the pole vault and Nile [Uzzell] had the most consistent meet of his career in the triple jump." Today was really exactly the kind of meet you wanted to see two weeks out from conference."
MEET HIGHLIGHTS:
On the track…
- Sophomore Myles Calhoun (Henrietta, N.Y.) got second career collegiate victory in the 60-meter dash and did so with a new blazing PR time of 6.76 seconds.
- For the second-straight meet, junior Eric Van Der Els (Norwalk, Conn.) turned in a new PR in the mile. On Saturday, Van Der Els clocked a 4:04.08 to take 30th in the huge field of 342 runners. Van Der Els ran a 4:07.22 at the New England meet two weeks ago.
- Freshman Joseph O'Brien (Shrewsbury, Mass.) took home third place in the 200 meters and recorded a new PR as well, clocking in at 21.32 seconds.
- Sophomore Wellington Ventura (Cresskill, N.J.) was second in the 400 meters recording his fastest time of the season at 47.27 seconds. The time vaults Ventura up the AAC rankings in the event.
- Junior Safir Scott (Greenwich, Conn.) took fourth in the 400 and also set a new PR, clocking in at 47.55.
- In the 500 meters, freshman Stephen Sutton (Tolland, Conn.) took home a fifth-place finish and posted a time of 1:04.35 in his first time running the event at the collegiate level.
In the field…
- A trio of Huskies finished in the top-five in the weight throw led by sophomore Christopher Keegan (West Hartford, Conn.) who was third with a big PR heave of 18.35 meters (60'2.50"). His previous best came at the New England meet two weeks ago at 17.97 meters.
- UConn freshman Travis Snyder (Saco, Maine) continued his strong rookie season with a second-place finish in the pole vault with a height of 4.90 meters (16'0.75"). Fellow freshman Tyler Hrbek (Northvale, N.J.) was fourth with a new PR height of 4.80 meters (15'9.00").
- Senior Cameron Thompson (Cordlandt Manor, N.Y.) was fourth with a throw of 18.21 meters (59'9.00") and grad student Sebastian Castano (Cresskill, N.J.) was fifth at 17.92 meters (58'9.50").
- Junior Todd Stueber (Toms River, N.J.) took second in the shot put and had a season-best throw of 16.86 meters (55'3.75"). Classmate Matthew Brady (Biddeford, Maine) was in third at 16.78 meters (55'0.75").
- Junior Nile Uzzell (Somerset, N.J.) was sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 14.71 meters (48'3.25").
- Freshman David Ajama (Lowell, Mass.) took seventh in the high jump with a height of 2.00 meters (6'6.75")
UP NEXT FOR THE HUSKIES:
UConn will have next weekend off as they make their final preparations for the 2020 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship on February 28 and 29 at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama.
Players Mentioned
