University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge
UConn Heads to NYC this Weekend
2/3/2022 5:07:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
Live Stats | Watch (USATF.TV/NBCPeacock)Â
The UConn men's and women's track and field team will be competing at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge this Friday and Saturday at the historic Armory in New York City.Â
The Huskies are coming off another strong weekend of competition at split events last weekend at BU and the Great Dane Classic. "As each weekend we move closer to championship season, progress become incremental as we continue train and sharpen up," stated Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Greg Roy. " We had a very positive weekend again last week and we are looking come out and do that again this weekend."
This weekend's scored meet wil feature some of the top programs from around the country. Student-athletes from host Columbia as well as UAlbany, Binghamton, Boston College, Boston University, Brown, BYU, Cornell, Dartmouth, Fordham, Hampton, Iona, Johns Hopkins, La Salle, Lehigh, Maryland, Penn, Penn State, Princeton, South Carolina, St. John's, Syracuse, Temple, UCLA, Villanova, and Virginia will be in NYC for this weekend's meet.
"To give you a feel for the level of competition, the top-six pole vaulters in the country will be there, one of which is Travis Snyder," stated Roy. The UConn men won this event the last time they competed at it in 2020. The Huskies won in a field of 18 teams thanks to 82 total points, putting them past UCLA in second with 61 points and Harvard in third with 59. Â
"Its' going to be a heck of a meet. Getting in against great competition in a great facility, go in and see where you stand. We will see a level of competition that is going to be really high. If they can stand up to that, we are going to be looking good headed toward championship season. It's a great opportunity."
On the track last weekend, senior Eric Van Der Els (Norwalk, Conn.) set a new school record in the mile for the second-straight weekend. clocking in at 3:58.76 on Sunday at the John Thomas Terrier Classic. Van Der Els is 3rd in the BIG EAST and 28th in the NCAA rankings.
At the Great Dane meet, Junior Joseph O'Brien (Shrewsbury, Mass.) got a win in the 60-meter dash and the 200 meters, and ranks 2nd in the BIG EAST in both events. Freshman Terrel Williams (Maplewood, NJ) beat the field in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 7.91 seconds and sits atop the BIG EAST.
Junior Wellington Ventura (Cresskill, N.J.) ran the 400 meters for the first time this indoor season at BU and grabbed the win with a time of 46.89 seconds sitting at the top of the league rankings.
In the field events, the Huskies are the top of every event of the BIG EAST rankings. Last weekend,  junior Tyler Hrbek (Northvale, N.J.) got his second win this indoor season in the pole vault, clearing a height of 5.00 meters.
Players Mentioned
