University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Virginia Challenge
Strong Individual Performances Highlight Meets at UVA and Navy
4/17/2021 8:21:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The UConn track & field team took part in a pair of unscored meets this weekend with the focus on individual performance and meeting qualifying standards as the team heads toward the championship portion of the 2021 schedule.
On Friday, the Huskies send a group of distance runners to the University of Virginia to run at the Virginia Challenge. "We had some great performances yesterday," stated UConn assistant coach Lindsay Crevoiserat. "Everyone came here with a goal and everyone got the job done yesterday. It's exciting to see their training paying off. I know there's still more where that came from; we're rolling into championship season perfectly. "
"We saw some great performances this weekend, highlighted by Jordan Torney in the decathlon, Wellington Ventura in the 400m hurdles, Terrell Williams in the high hurdles in the men's side and Patti Mroczkowski in the high jump and Kelly Ward in the heptathlon for the women," stated associate head coach Rich Miller. "As a whole, we may not have been as sharp as we would like to be but I see us getting stronger each week. With each competition we continue to develop both fundamentally and our competitive IQ."
At Navy on Saturday, UConn had athletes competing in the decathlon for the first time this outdoor season.
Both Husky teams will return home next weekend to host their final home meet of the spring, the UConn Northeast Invitational with Brown, Northeastern, Rhode Island and Southern Connecticut State.
On the track…
At UVA
- Sophomore Kevin Cawley (Massapequa, N.Y.) set a new PR in the 3000-meter steeplechase for the second-straight week, posting a 9.02.76 clocking to finish 18th. "Cawley started off the night with an 11 second PR from last week and I'm looking forward to him breaking that nine-minute barrier," commented Crevoiserat.
- In the 5,000 meters seniors Will Brisman (Fairfield, Conn.) and Eric Van Der Els (Norwalk, Conn.) both competed for the first time this spring. Brisman took 29th in a time of 14:12.79, setting a new PR while Van Der Els was 35th in 14:19.78.
- In the 10,000 meters, senior Sean Parker (Bridgewater, Conn.) was 13th overall with a new PR time of 29:54.29. "Brisman had a great 5k PR opener and Parker ran tough in the 10k and closed hard and PRed," said Crevoiserat. "Eric was in the race with a mile to go and unfortunately got tripped up. He will be back to do something big in two weeks!"
At Navy
- For the second time this spring, junior Wellington Ventura (Cresskill, N.J.) set a new PR in the 400-meter hurdles but this week also set a new school record in the process. Ventura has not lost this outdoor season and topped the field on Saturday with a time of 50.97 seconds, breaking the record of 51.11 seconds set by Anthony Burris in 2009.
- Junior Noah Woodman (Hampstead, N.H.) ran the 200 meters for the second time this spring and picked up another win, clocking in at 21.11 seconds.
- Sophomore Stephen Sutton (Tolland, Conn.) grabbed his second win this spring in the 800 meters with a time of 1.50.18.
- Sophomore Kabir Chavan (Fairfield, Conn.) had a huge PR in the 5,000 meters, knocking 35 seconds off his previous best to take second place in 14:25.07.
- Freshman Terrel Williams (Maplewood, N.J.) ran his fastest time this year in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking in at 14.01 seconds to finish second.
- Senior Joshua Bedard (Tolland, Conn.) won the 1,500 meters and set a new PR with a time of 3:49.27.
- Junior Josiah Thompson (Jamaica, N.Y.) took third in the 100 meter dash matching his fastest time this spring at 10.87 seconds.
- The UConn 4x400 team of Dante Bailey (Monmouth Junction, N.J.), Caleb Owen (New Haven, Conn.), Woodman and Ventura turned in the fastest time this spring by the Huskies, winning in 3:11.15.
In the field…
At Navy
- Senior Jordan Torney (Toms River, N.J.) finished second in the decathlon and set a new PR in the process, piling up 7,282 total points. Torney won the 400 meters (49.08), setting a new PR in the event, and the 110-meter hurdles (14.58). He was second in the pole vault (4.50m), the discus (38.41m) and long jump (7.21m).
- Fellow senior Benjamin Grosse (Wayzata, Minn.) took third place and also established a new PR, posting a total of 6,961 points. Grosse won the high jump at 2.02 meters and was second in the 1,500 meters at 4:40.98. He was second in the shot put (13.05m).
- In the hammer, the Huskies took the top-two spots with senior Cameron Thompson (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) winning for the first time this spring with a throw of 57.79m. Junior Chris Keegan (West Hartford, Conn.) was second at 57.31m.
- UConn also claimed the top-two spots in the shot put as senior Todd Stueber (Toms River, N.J.) was first with a throw of 17.58 meters. Classmate Matthew Brady (Biddeford, Maine) took second at 16.89 meters.
- Brady grabbed second in the discus at 46.27 meters and Steuber was third at 45.33 meters.
- Senior Daniel Claxton (Nesconset, N.Y.) was second in the high jump at 2.06m.
- Sophomore pole vaulter Travis Snyder (Saco, Maine) was second on Saturday with a height of 5.02 meters.
Players Mentioned
