University of Connecticut Athletics
Berg Captures Decathlon Competition With Personal Best Total
4/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
STORRS, Conn. (April 7, 2006) - University of Connecticut junior Sean Berg (Mystic, Conn.) captured first place with a personal-best 6773 points in the decathlon at the UConn Invitational. The 110m hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and 1500m run portions of the decathlon were contested on Friday. Berg had been the frontrunner in the event heading into the final day.
Berg turned in the quickest time of all the decathlon competitors in the 110m hurdles, running the event in a time of 15.22 seconds on the closing day. He also came home with the best distance in the discus throw, 39.12m, and the javelin throw, 51.16m, as well as the best height in the pole vault in 4.05m. The junior was third in the 1500m in a time of 4:56.92. His time in the 110m hurdles and his discus throw distance were both personal-bests for Berg and his pole vault height tied his career-high.
Freshman Sean Smith (Scotch Plains, N.J.) finished in second place with 6040 points, and fellow freshman Erik Thunberg (Groton, Conn.) was third with 5845 points. Smith was second in the 1500m in a time of 4:46.21 and was also second in the 110m hurdles in 15.84 seconds while Thunberg was third in both the pole vault, 3.35m, and the javelin throw, 42.24m.
Freshman Joe Staub (Stoneham, Mass.) placed fifth in the competition with 5328 points. He was second in the discus throw in 34.00m on Friday. Kurt Gustafson, competing unattached, was fourth in the event. He was second in the pole vault with a height of 3.55m and captured the 1500m portion of the event with a time of 4:32.26.
Entering the final day of competition on Friday, Thunberg was in second place, Smith in third, Staub was in fourth and Gustafson stood fifth.
The remaining events of the UConn Invitational will take place on Saturday, April 8 at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex. The first event is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
