University of Connecticut Athletics
Track Heads Out To IC4A Championship
5/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
May 12, 2010
STORRS, Conn. - After a weekend off, the University of Connecticut men's track and field team will take part in the IC4A Championship in Princeton, N.J. from Friday, May 14 to Sunday, May 16. The Huskies will be running en masse this weekend as each individual looks to improve upon their NCAA Championship qualifying mark.
"We are going into this meet looking for the young athletes to develop and for veterans to improve on their NCAA qualifying marks or even jump into the top-48," said head coach Greg Roy. "Our focus for the meet is not a team title, but we will see what happens when we add up the points at the end of the day."
The Huskies have 16 athletes in the hunt for the postseason. Mid-distance runners Mike Rutt and Brian Gagnon will compete in the 800 meter run, a race that they have achieved All-America status in the indoor season. Gagnon currently sits in 15th place in the east region and 29th nationally with his season best time of 1:49.03 recorded at "The Dogfight" while Rutt is in 40th in the east region with a time of 1:50.07 that he earned at the BIG EAST Championship. Both athletes will really open up this weekend trying to cut their times down by a few seconds.
Kyle Duggan is another Husky that is doing well this season. For the second-straight season it appears as though Duggan has solidified a spot for himself in the NCAA East Regional meet. Duggan's height of 5.21 meters (17-1), is not only a personal best but is a UConn outdoor record and it currently ranks him 18th in the east region and 34th nationally.
Will Sanders' unbelievable run of 8:55.34 in the 3000 meter steeplechase at the BIG EAST Championship set a new personal best for the senior by nearly 10 seconds and put him in 17th place in the east rankings and 38th nationally. Sanders looks to best that score this weekend.
A couple of Huskies set season highs at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia as Marquis Thomas notched a 2.10 meter (16-10.75) height in the high jump while Mike Alleman set a personal best throw of 17.67 meters (57-11.75) in the shot put. Thomas' height ranks him 29th in the east region and 55th nationally while Alleman is 24th in the east and 38th nationally.
Chris Whyte looks to get into the NCAA east championship for their first time ever. Whyte is just on the cusp of making the cut as his run of 52.43 seconds in the 400 meter hurdles currently has him in the top-48 at 47 but he must improve upon his time in order to solidify a spot in the post season.
Each of UConn's javelin throwers qualified for the IC4A Championships. The group is led by Cody Unger, who ranks 48th in the east with a toss of 63.11 meters (207-1).
UConn's multi-event core will also look to better their times as just the top-24 in the country will advance directly to the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Ore., Track Town, USA. Sean Smith, who will not be competing at the Championship has all but solidified himself a spot in the NCAA east regional with his first place performance at the BIG EAST Championship. His score of 7,370 was a personal best for Smith and currently ranks sixth in the east and 16th nationally. Aaron King will need to improve on his point total of 6,945, recorded at the Texas Relays which currently places him 14th in the east and 43rd nationally. The decathlon is only the second of the season for King, who will need to aim for a point total of 7,300-7,400 in order to move on to the NCAA Championship.
Stay tuned to UConnHuskies.com for updates as the Huskies take part in the elite IC4A Championship.
Players Mentioned
