UConn's Ajama Named Freshman of the Year at AAC Indoor Championship

Friday, February 28

Birmingham, Ala.

9:00 AM

University of Connecticut

American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship

UConn's Ajama Named Freshman of the Year at AAC Indoor Championship

2/29/2020 6:59:00 PM | Men's Track and Field

Final Results

2020 AAC Championship Final Results

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UConn men's track & field team wrapped the 2020 American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship on Saturday and took second place overall in the field of eight teams. The Huskies claimed three individual titles and had a total of 12 All-AAC performances over the weekend highlighted by freshman David Ajama (Lowell, Mass.) earning AAC Freshman of the Year honors at the meet.

UConn finished with a total of 129 points, its highest point total since the 2015 indoor championship meet. Houston won its sixth-straight AAC title, topping the field with 179 total points. Cincinnati was third with 101 points.

Ajama took home a gold medal by winning the triple jump on Saturday. He was joined by junior Eric Van Der Els (Norwalk, Conn.) who took home his first ever gold, winning the mile, and sophomore Wellington Ventura (Cresskill, N.J.) who won his first career gold as well, taking the 400 meters.

"We competed really well today on both sides, said director of cross country and track & field Greg Roy. "With 12 events down and more than halfway through today, we were ahead, then the Houston onslaught of sprinters hit. Hats off to Houston."

"Our kids really did a great job and put forth some championship performances this weekend," he continued. "We really showed up and performed tough throughout. To get three championships on the men's side is great for the program."

Day 2 Highlights:

On the Track…

Junior Eric Van Der Els (Norwalk, Conn.) notched his sixth All-AAC performance and the first gold medal finish of his career by winning the mile. Van Der Els posted a time of 4:10.11 to best the field. Van Der Els had previously finished third (2018) and second (2019) in the event at the AAC Indoor title meet.
The Huskies got another gold medal performance this time coming from sophomore Wellington Venturea (Cresskill, N.J.) in the 400 meters. The sophomore clocked in at 47.22 seconds to earn his first career conference individual title.
UConn junior Tyler Gleen (Shelton, Conn.) picked-up a bronze medal in the 800 meters, clocking in at 1:52.54 to take third. It is Gleen's third All-AAC performance in his career.
The UConn 4x400 relay team of Markus Bagley (Jersey City, N.J.), sophomore Adam Khriss (Secaucus, N.J.), sophomore Noah Woodman (Hampstead, N.H.) and Ventura posted the fastest relay time of the season in the event, taking a silver medal with a clocking of 3:12.89.
In the 60- meter dash, sophomore Myles Calhoun (Henrietta, N.Y.) had his best-ever finish in the event, taking fifth overall and posting a time of 6.81 seconds.

In the Field…

Rookie David Ajama (Lowell, Mass.) took home gold in his first collegiate conference championship meets, winning the triple jump as the Huskies finished 1-2 in the event. Ajama posted a new PR with a leap of 15.69 meters (51'5.75").
Sophomore Safir Scott (Greenwich, Conn.), a conference medalist in the high jump, grabbed second in the triple jump with a leap 15.40 meters (50'6.25"), a new PR.
Junior Jordan Torney (Toms River, N.J.) had his best-ever finish in the heptathlon at the AAC meet, taking home the silver with a second-place finish. He rang up a total of 5,395 points. In addition to winning the long jump and 60-meter dash on Friday, Torney won the 60-meter hurdles on Saturday with a time of 8.19 seconds.
Junior Daniel Claxton (Nesconset, N.Y.) became a three-time All-AAC high jumper thanks to his second-place finish on Saturday. Claxton, the 2018 AAC outdoor champ in the event, posted a height of 2.16 meters (7'1"), a new PR for the junior. Scott, who scored in the triple, also picked up a fourth-place finish in the high jump, clearing a height of 2.12 meters (6'11.5")
Classmate Benjamin Grosse (Wayzata, Minn.) took fourth overall with a total of 5,279 points, establishing a new PR. Grosse was second in both the high jump and shot put. Freshman Nicholas Pronovost (Coventry, Conn.) also had a new career-high with 4,812 points.
Junior Matthew Brady (Biddeford, Maine) scored his first All-AAC finish and the first medal performance of his career at a conference championship. Brady turned in a second-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 17.20 meters (56'5.25").
Fellow junior Todd Stueber (Toms River, N.J.) also picked-up points for UConn in the shot put, finishing fourth with a throw of 16.99 meters (55'9.0"), a career-best finish at an AAC title meet.
On Friday, graduate student Sebastian Castano (Cresskill, N.J.) grabbed his first career medal at an AAC Championship and did it with a new PR at 19.62 meters (64'4.50"). It is the second time this indoor season he has set a new PR in the event.