University of Connecticut Athletics
Three Huskies Head To NCAA Championship
6/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
June 2, 2010
| 2010 NCAA Championship Information |
STORRS, Conn. - Three University of Connecticut track and field stars will head to Eugene, Ore. for the NCAA Championship to be held at Hayward Field from June 9-12. Decathlete Sean Smith and 800-meter runners Mike Rutt and Brian Gagnon will represent the university, the first time since 2004 that the UConn men's team has had more than one athlete at the NCAA Championship.
This is the first appearance for all three Huskies at the Outdoor NCAA Championship.
Action will kick off with the semifinal round of the 800 meter run at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 9, both Rutt and Gagnon will take part. The finals of the 800 meter will take place on Friday, June 11 at 5:40 p.m.
The two mid-distance runners are coming off of personal best times at the NCAA East Regional. Both athletes recorded sub-1:47 marks in the quarterfinal round race with Rutt finishing third in the race in a time of 1:46.63 while Gagnon took sixth in 1:46.99.
Rutt's time is tied with Cory Primm of UCLA for fourth best in the nation in the 2010 Outdoor season while Gagnon's time puts him 11th in the nation in 2010. Rutt entered the meet ranked 16th in the country while Gagnon had the nation's 14th best time.
Rutt and Gagnon will be the first 800-meter runners competing in a UConn uniform at the NCAA Championship since Joel Legare in 2004. Legare earned All-America honors after his 12th place semifinal round finish of 1:48.32 ranked eighth among American runners.
"Rutt and Gagnon are seasoned competitors at the National level," said head coach Greg Roy, "having seen both NCAA and USA finals in the 800. Their yearly plan had a red circle around the NCAA Championship dates, as everything has been geared toward breakthrough performances at this meet."
Smith will begin competition in the decathlon on Thursday, June 10 at 10 a.m. with the 100 meter dash. On Thursday, Smith will compete in the 100 meter, long jump, shot put, high jump and action will conclude at 4 p.m. with the 400 meter dash. Friday's events begin again at 10 a.m. with the 100 meter hurdles followed by the discus, pole vault, javelin and the decathlon will finish at 6:15 p.m. with the 1500 meter run.
Smith enters the meet ranked 21st in the country in the decathlon. He earned his spot in the championship after winning his second-straight BIG EAST decathlon and recording a personal best 7,370 points. This will be Smith's first appearance in the NCAA Championship and he will be the first Husky decathlete since Sean Berg earned a spot in 2006. Berg finished 18th in the meet that year.
"Sean Smiths story is the greatest `Never Ending Story' in program history," said Roy. "His levels of fitness and confidence put the probability very high that Smitty's final chapter will be the best."
Players Mentioned
