University of Connecticut Athletics
Wilson, Mendel and Pisano In Action At NCAAs
5/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
BATON ROUGE, LA (May 30, 2002) -- Senior Dan Wilson (West Haven, CT), junior Joe Mendel (Wayne, NJ) and sophomore Paul Pisano (Toms River, NJ) of the University of Connecticut men’s track and field team were in action Thursday night at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship at Louisiana State University. Pisano competed in the javelin throw while Wilson and Mendel participated in preliminary heats for their respective track events.
Wilson posted a blistering time of 3:40.27 in the 1,500-meter run trials. His time was the fastest of the day by over a full second and earned him a spot among the 12 runners who qualified for Saturday’s finals. Wilson is aiming for his fifth All-America honor; he has been named an All-American twice in both cross country and indoor track and field.
Mendel also participated in preliminary heats in the 400-meter dash on Thursday. An All-American during the 2002 indoor season, Mendel placed fourth in his heat and 15th overall with a time of 46.47. Only the heat winners and next five fastest times advanced to Saturday’s finals.
Making his first appearance at the NCAA Championship, Pisano placed 12th in the field of 20 in the javelin throw late Thursday. The thrower recorded a heave of 68.34 meters (224'2") while Scott Russell of Kansas won the event with a throw of 79.85 meters (262'0"). The start time of the event was pushed back due to late afternoon thunderstorm activity in Baton Rouge. Pisano qualified for the championship by virtue of a school-record heave of 71.10 meters (233’3”) en route to the BIG EAST javelin crown nearly a month ago.
On Friday, sophomore Will Thomas (Wakefield, RI) begins competition in the decathlon, which will conclude on Saturday.
