University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
NCAA East Preliminary
11 Huskies Headed to NCAA East Prelims
5/23/2022 10:32:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
STORRS, Conn. – The UConn men's track and field team will send 11 student-athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field East Preliminary Round at Indiana University this week with a shot at the NCAA Championships on the line.
The meet will begin on Wednesday May 25th at Haugh Track & Field in Bloomington and will run through Saturday, May 28th. Athletes with the top 12 times/marks at both the East and West Preliminary Rounds sites will qualify for the 2022 NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, held on June 8-11 at Hayward Field.
UConn will have 17 total athletes competing this week, eleven men and six women with a shot for a spot in the NCAA title meet field.
"A great situation where indoors is pure performance but outdoors it's head-to-head, on the day," said Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Greg Roy. "You want to make it, move on well here is your chance. I look at this regional meet as our version of the "Sweet Sixteen". This is the NCAA Championship, the first round. If you do what you did to get here, you have a pretty good chance to move on."
Wednesday, May 25
110 meter hurdles – Terrel Williams (Maplewood, N.J.)
Sophomore Terrel Williams is back at the NCAA East Prelims in the 110 meter hurdles this season. He posted his fastest time of the outdoor season at 13.81 seconds, in a win at the UConn Northeast Challenge, placing him 27th in the East Region and 51st nationally. Williams earned three victories this spring and is coming off his second-straight gold medal at the BIG EAST Championship, besting the field at 13.95 seconds.
400 meter hurdles – Wellington Ventura (Cresskill, N.J.)
Junior Wellington Ventura is coming off his best race of the outdoor season at the BIG EAST Championship where he won gold for the second-straight year in the 400 meter hurdles. Ventura clocked his fastest time and broke the UConn school record at 50.61 seconds, ranking him 15 th in the East Region and putting him 31st in the nation. Ventura just missed a trip to the NCAA Championship last spring, finishing 14th at the East Prelim.
Javelin – Colin Winkler (Barkhamstead, Conn.) & Gabriel Fountain (Manchester, Conn.)
Sophomore Colin Winkler earned a spot in the NCAA East Preliminary for the second-straight season with his top throw of the season coming at the Penn Relays where he came in 65.73 meters. Winkler ranked 41st in the East Region. Winkler took home the gold medal at the BIG EAST Championship winning with a throw of 65.48 meters.
Sophomore Gabriel Fountain had his best throw of the spring at the BIG EAST Championship at 64.17 meters, just missing the medal stand with a fourth place finish. He picked up his first career win at the Navy Spring Invitational II and then had a new PR at Penn Relays at 63.87m before topping it again at the conference championship. Fountain ranked 48th in the East Region and joins Winkler in making his NCAA East Prelim debut.
Long Jump – Richmond Kwaateng (Lowell, Mass.)
Sophomore Richmond Kwaateng qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary in the long jump for the first time in his career. Kwaateng won the gold at the 2022 BIG EAST Championship, defending his conference title with a leap of 7.42m. He had his best jump and set a new PR earlier in the outdoor season at the UConn Dog Fight meet in Storrs with a jump of 7.66m, ranking 31st regionally. On the track, Kwaateng ran the 100-meter dash at the BIG EAST Championship and ran a 10.30 in the prelims, setting a new UConn school record.
Pole Vault – Travis Snyder (Saco, Maine) & Tyler Hrbek (Northvale, N.J.)
Junior Travis Snyder is looking to book his second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship after finishing ninth at last spring's NCAA Prelim meet to qualify. Snyder is coming off defending his pole vault title at the BIG EAST Championship. He became the first Husky to win an individual championship at the Penn Relays when her took first with his best height this spring at 5.32 meters, ranking 18th in the East Region and 32nd in the NCAA. He had five wins this outdoor season.
Classmate Tyler Hrbek will also make a return appearance at the NCAA East Preliminaries and is coming off a silver medal performance at the 2022 BIG EAST Championship two weeks ago. Hrbek has broke 5.00 meters in each of his last three meets and posted a second place finish at 5.05 meters at the conference meet. His best vault of the spring came at the Penn Relays where he cleared 5.12 meters. He comes in 44th in the NCAA East Prelim rankings.
Friday, May 27
3000 meter steeplechase – Chris Lepore (Trumbull, Conn.) & Kevin Cawley (Massapequa, N.Y.)
Sophomore Chris Lepore had his fastest time in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Penn Relays, clocking in with a new PR time of 8:50.87. He ranks 30th in the East Region. He finished fifth at the BIG EAST Championship and won the event at the UConn Northeast Challenge, his second career victory.
Sophomore Kevin Cawley recorded his best time of the outdoor season in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Virginia Challenge in April, recording a time of 8:51.12, ranking him 35th in the East Region. Cawley is coming off winning the bronze at the BIG EAST Championship where he clocked in at 8:52.77.
5,000 meters – Eric Van Der Els (Norwalk, Conn.)
Senior Eric Van Der Els returns to the NCAA East Preliminary meet to run the 5000 meters after finishing 22nd last season. Van Der Els had his fastest time this spring at the Virginia Challenge where he set a new PR and broke his own UConn school record by finishing third with a time of 13:36.28. He comes in ranked 15th in the East Region and is 38th in the national rankings.
High Jump – Daniel Claxton (Nesconset, N.Y.)
This will mark the third trip to the NCAA East Prelims for senior Daniel Claxton in the high jump. Claxton qualified this spring and had his best height of the season at the BIG EAST Championships, where he defended his gold medal with a win at 2.12 meters. He ranks 30th heads into the week's competition. Claxton posted three victories in the high jump this spring. He finished 19th at last spring's East Prelim with a PR height of 2.16 meters.
Players Mentioned
