University of Connecticut Athletics
Nine Huskies To Redshirt 2009 Outdoor Season
4/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
April 2, 2009
STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut men's track and field team will redshirt nine of their athletes during the 2009 Outdoor Season. Five of the athletes planned to redshirt the season to retain eligibility, while four others are for medical reasons.
Redshirting for the Huskies are the three 2009 Indoor All-Americans, junior Mike Rutt (Sinking Springs, Pa.) and seniors Brian Gagnon (Lowell, Mass.) and Marquis Thomas (Boston, Mass.).
Rutt and Gagnon were named All-Americans in the 800-meter run at the Indoor NCAA Championship. Rutt finished the year in fourth place among NCAA 800-meter runners, while Gagnon finished eighth.
Thomas earned his All-American title in the high jump. At the Indoor Championship, Thomas jumped a height of 2.09m (6-10.25) for a ninth place finish.
Also planning to redshirt for the Huskies are senior Will Sanders (Wethersfield, Conn.) and sophomore Aaron King (Wharton, N.J.). This season, at the BIG EAST Championship, both Sanders and King were point-getters for the Huskies. Sanders finished seventh in the one mile run at the indoor championships and was fourth in last years outdoor championships in the steeplechase. King took home his second indoor heptathlon title in his two years and was third in the long jump competing for the Huskies.
On the medical side of things, sophomores Dylan Dombrowski (Breezy Point, N.Y.) and Kyle Rowbotham (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and freshmen Mike Alleman (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and Cody Unger (Oak Ridge, N.J.) are all redshirting the outdoor season. Dombrowski, who as a freshman was a BIG EAST Championship scorer, can compete in multi events as well as the pole vault and javelin. His classmate, Rowbotham placed in both the indoor and outdoor championships as a freshman in the decathlon and heptathlon events.
During the indoor season, Alleman had the second longest Husky shot put distance with a toss of 16.62m. Unger, has yet to compete for the Huskies is recovering from off season surgery for an injury he suffered in high school. All are expected to return to full form by the beginning of the 2009-2010 season.
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Players Mentioned
