University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Head to BIG EAST Championship
2/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
STORRS, CT (Feb. 15, 2002) -- The University of Connecticut men's track and field team travels to Syracuse, NY, this weekend looking for its first BIG EAST title in five years at the BIG EAST Indoor Championship on Feb. 16-17.
Competing for the Huskies will be All-American seniors Elliott Blount (Freeport, NY) and Dan Wilson (West Haven, CT), both of whom have broken school records in the 800m and the mile, respectively, this season. Blount captured the BIG EAST Indoor title in the 800m in 2000 while Wilson took home top honors in the mile in 1998.
Other Husky headliners include junior Mark Jellison (Reading, MA) and sophomore William Thomas (Toms River, NJ). Jellison claimed last season's BIG EAST title in the pentathlon while Thomas won both the New England and IC4A Championships in the pentathlon in 2001.
Senior Adebo Oshodi (White Plains, NY) and sophomore Chris Charles (Park Ridge, NJ) should lead UConn in the short sprints while junior Joe Mendel (Wayne, NJ) will be a force in the 400m, an event in which he broke the school record earlier this season.
Sophomores Joe DiCola (Courtland Manor, NY) and Chris Mazza (Toms River, NJ) form a formidable 1-2 punch in the pole vault, while junior Mike Deibler (Monroe, NY) has finished no lower than second in the high jump this season.
UConn has three BIG EAST team championships, including indoor titles in 1980 and 1997, and 43 individual victories to its credit.
Fans can follow the action live at www.bigeast.org via www.trackmeets.com. Results will be posted periodically throughout the weekend at www.suathletics.com, while information will be updated daily at www.uconnhuskies.com.
