University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
IC4A Championship
Huskies Looking for IC4A Three-Peat
3/5/2020 4:26:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
STORRS, Conn. – The UConn men's track and field team will close out the 2020 indoor season this weekend as they look to capture their third-straight IC4A Championship at the annual meet being held at Boston University's Track and Tennis Center.
The meet will get underway on Friday with the heptathlon and pentathlon and continue through Sunday.
UConn is the defending champion and have won the last two IC4A titles heading into this weekend's meet. As a program, the Huskies have won four IC4A crowns, in 2019, 2018, 2013 and 2011.
"This is a meet we go to where we aren't going to stretch people and we will give the athletes some input on what they are going to compete in," stated director of cross country and track & field Greg Roy. "We go into it with the philosophy of, 'how do you want to compete in this meet' but know that we are expecting everyone to score points. We are going to maximize our points while doing what makes sense for our athletes."
"This is a great meet and for the men, three in a row would be nice," stated Roy. "The question on the women's side is do we have enough. It is another way for the women to continue building towards being a championship team."
The Huskies are coming off a second place finish at last weekend's American Athletic Conference Indoor Championship where they finished with 129 total points, their highest total since the 2015 meet, three individual champions and 12 All-AAC performances.
UConn is looking to put one more win on the ledger as they wrap-up an indoor campaign that has seen the Huskies win the Harvard Beantown Challenge, the Columbia Challenge and the New England Championship. This weekend's meet will be a springboard for the Huskies into the outdoor season.
"I told many athletes this week, first outdoor meet this weekend just happens to be inside," said Roy. "With the way we train, we look it as one big season with two peaks. After this week, we will take a deep breath and then away we go again."
On the Track…
- Sophomore Wellington Ventura set a new school record in the 400 meters at last year's IC4A meet, blazing to a time of 46.47 seconds that gave him a second place finish. Ventura won the 400 at last weekend's AAC meet, clocking in at 47.22 seconds to earn his first career conference individual title.
- All three UConn relay teams, DMR, 4x400, 4x800, recorded top-three finishes last season to help secure the team's win over Rutgers.
- Junior Eric Van Der Els (Norwalk, Conn.) earned his first career gold at the AAC Championships by winning the mile last weekend. Van Der Els posted a time of 4:10.11 to best the field.
- Junior Tyler Gleen (Shelton, Conn.) was the other Husky medalist on the track last weekend, grabbing a bronze in the 800 meters, clocking in at 1:52.54.
In the Field…
- Juniors Daniel Claxton (Nesconset, N.Y.) and Benjamin Grosse (Wayzata, Minn.) will be looking to defend their IC4A titles in the high jump and the heptathlon this weekend.
- Claxton won last year's meet with a height of 2.09 meters (6'10.25"). Last weekend, Claxton set a new PR with a height of 2.16 meters (7'1") to win silver at the AAC meet.
- Grosse won at least year's meet with a total of 5,040 points, and last weekend, topped that total with 5,099 points to finish fourth at the AAC meet.
- Freshman David Ajama (Lowell, Mass.) was named the AAC Freshman of the Year at last weekend's AAC meet after winning the triple jump and also was eighth in the long jump and just missed scoring with a ninth place finish in the high jump.
- 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 with 5,395 points.
- 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") for second in the weight throw.
Players Mentioned
