Track & Field Leads BIG EAST Championships After Day 1

Photo by: Steve Woltmann/BIG EAST

2/28/2025 9:49:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

CHICAGO, IL.- UConn men's and women's track and field kicked off the 2025 Indoor BIG EAST Championships on Friday, with both programs in pursuit of winning their fourth consecutive indoor championship. Both Husky teams ended the first day in the lead, with the women up 115 to 27 over second place St. John's, and the men up 70 to 40 over second place Villanova.

Quote from Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan:

"Day one was outstanding for the men and women of UConn Track and Field. I am pleased with the great performances and even more so with the grit of our overall team. These Huskies are giving 100% to it all! Day 2 is set up to be a great day as well!"

Multi-Events:

Diarmuid O'Connor rolled into Saturday at the front of the pack of the heptathlon, winning three of the first four events, totaling 3,078 points.
Joshua Mooney set a heptathlon conference championship record in the 60m, coming in at 6.94 to claim the top spot in the event. Mooney finished Day 1 in second behind O'Connor with 2,969 points
Maresa Hense continued her standout season, pulling away from the field and winning the pentathlon in tremendous fashion, winning all five events on the day. Hense finished with 4,062 points, the second most in UConn women's indoor history.
The Huskies completed the sweep in the pentathlon, with Audrey Kozak earning the silver medal with 3,420 points, and Mackenzie Braunstein securing the bronze with 3,409 points.

Men's Field Events:

Marc Morrison won the men's long jump for the second consecutive year, with a mark of 7.69m. Morrison beat his last year's mark by .33m.
- Kasey Savage came in second, with a season best of 7.50m.
Travis Roux won silver in the men's weight throw, with a mark of 20.50m
Ty Noble secured silver in the pole vault, topping at a mark of 4.85m.

Women's Field Events:

UConn swept the women's pole vault, with Mallory Malz claiming gold, Piper Linn taking silver, both with personal bests at 3.80m, and Rachel Mason securing the bronze at 3.70m.

Natalia Surdej claimed the silver medal in the women's weight throw with a throw of 18.92m.
A'liyah Thomas won gold in the women's long jump, with a mark of 6.12m

Women's Track Events:

Loghan Hughes qualified for the women's mile final tomorrow, with a time of 4:52.64, a personal best.
A'liyah Thomas qualified for the women's 60m hurdle final tomorrow, with the best time of the afternoon at 8.58 Thomas will be joined in the final by teammates Ryleigh Marks, and Daryn Davis, who ran times of 8.95 and 9.04, respectively
Anna Connors qualified for the 400m final tomorrow, with the fourth-best time of the afternoon at 55.14
Jaia James and Danielle Phillip qualified for the 60m final tomorrow, with times of 7.55 and 7.65, respectively. James also qualified for the 200m final as well, with a time of 24.39.
Jenna Zydanowicz won gold in the 5000m, with a time of 16:19.00. Faith Kiplimo secured silver, with a time of 16:36.43.
The team of Sarah Trainor, Gabby Davis, Calista Mayer, and Malin Rahm secured bronze in the DMR, with a time of 11:24.89

Men's Track Events:

Terrel Williams, William Watson, and Jordon Quinn all qualified for the men's 60m hurdle final tomorrow. Williams (2^nd), Watson (3^rd), and Quinn (5^th) ran times of 7.83, 8.08, and 8.30, respectively
OJ Singletary, Mekhi Stone, and Del Lindsay all qualified for the 400m final tomorrow. Singletary ran the best time of the afternoon at 47.66, with Stone close behind in second at 47.74. Lindsay ran a personal best 48.74 to advance
A plethora of Huskies will be competing in the 60m final tomorrow, as Damon Simpson, Richmond Kwaateng, Noble Gongon, and Nicholas Wright all qualified after strong showings in the prelims today.
Mahamed Sharif will race in the 800m final tomorrow, after running the prelim in 1:51:42 in a tightly contested race
Gongon, Simpson, and Wyatt Maulhardt all qualified for the 200m final tomorrow after strong showings in the prelims this afternoon

Overall, the Huskies won five events on Day 1, secured seven silver medals, and three bronze medals, highlighted by two sweeps in the women's pentathlon and women's pole vault.

UConn will look to hold onto their respective leads and have both sides win their fourth straight BIG EAST Championships.