University of Connecticut Athletics
Men's Track Off To IC4A Championship
5/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
May 15, 2009
STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut men's track and field team will be competing at the IC4A Championship this weekend from Friday, May 15 to Sunday, May 17 at the Weaver Track and Field Stadium in Princeton, N.J. Twenty-six Huskies will be competing at the meet, more than twice the amount they had competing at the event last season.
Last season, UConn finished 18th garnering just 19 points from the 10 athletes that were competing. Senior Brian Gagnon (Lowell, Mass.), who is redshirting the 2009 outdoor season, was the top Husky finisher during the 2008 meet as he took home the 800m title edging his opponent by a mere one-hundredth of a second. His classmate Andrew Dubs (Holland, Pa.) got the silver in the shot put with a 16.72m (54-10.25) throw.
Dubs will return to the meet this season looking for the title. He has already recorded an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 17.53m (57-6.25) at the BIG EAST Championship but looks to improve upon that throw and bring home the victory.
Joining Dubs at the meet, is junior Anthony Burris (Bridgeport, Conn.) who broke a 30-year old school record in the 400m hurdles at the BIG EAST preliminaries with a time of 51.11. The record, set by David Kent in 1979, was shattered by .72 seconds.
Also an NCAA Regional qualifier, sophomore Dan Holst (Smithtown, N.Y.) will be running in the 800m along side senior Steve Iannaccone (Toms River, N.J.). Holst recorded the fastest time of his career also during the BIG EAST Championship prelims, finishing with a time of 1:49.50 breaking his old personal record of 1:51.76.
Senior Ellis Gaulden (Tallahassee, Fla.) will compete in his first IC4A Championship. The jumper will be competing in two events during the competition and has recorded NCAA Regional qualifying distances in each of them. On Saturday, Gaulden will compete in the long jump and he will finish action on Sunday with the high jump finals.
Coming off of his first BIG EAST Championship title, senior Sean Smith (Scotch Plains, N.J.) enters the decathlon competition with a purpose. Smith set a new personal record of 6,946 points at the BIG EAST Championship this season with his first place finish and looks to capture his first IC4A title as well.
Three pole vaulters will be competing at the event for the Huskies led by sophomore Kyle Duggan (Staten Island, N.Y.) who qualified for the NCAA Regionals for the first time in his career with a personal best height of 5.15m (6-10.75) also set at the BIG EAST Championship. -UCONN-
Players Mentioned
