The UConn indoor Track team was in action up in Boston over the weekend (Charlotte Lao/The Daily Campus)
The UConn men’s track and field team had their first meet of the season on Saturday at Boston University, and while it was non-scoring, they did hold their annual Blue/White intra-squad meet. The meet will conclude Thursday and Friday at the UConn Heptathlon, but as of now the Blue team is in the lead by two points. The Huskies had numerous impressive performances as well as first looks at plenty of newcomers.
“I counted 20 freshmen coming off the bus today, so that’s a lot of guys in their first meet for UConn,” said head coach Greg Roy said.
One of the most impressive performances was from jumper Malik Snead, who only took two jumps and won the triple jump with a 15.84 meter leap.
“His performance was, you know, kind of off the charts for a first meet,” Roy said.
Fellow Huskies Nile Uzzell (14.71m) and Ivan Nyemeck (14.30m) took third and fourth in the triple jump respectively.
Other standouts included thrower Sebastian Castano, who placed third in the weight throw with a distance of 16.89 meters, and is showing a lot of potential according to Roy. Freshman Tyler Gleen and Joshua Bedard also had impressive performances in the 800m, and Safir Scott won his first collegiate event, jumping 6’ 9.75” in the high jump.
The Huskies dominated in the 600m, taking five of the top ten places. This included a great outing from Terrell Cunningham, who ran a 1:21.07.
Captain Trentan Beram also had a very nice race, running a 1:21.41, with Roy saying he is “running way out of his wheelhouse.” The other top performers from UConn in the 600m included Daniel Linehan (1:21.69), Kyle Trocki (1:21.69) and Omar Gebril (1:22.33).
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“He’s a kid who really worked hard to get where he is, and I thought his opener at 16 feet today was just a great start, and he deserves everything he gets.”
The pole vault was another event that UConn dominated, again taking five of the top ten places. Craig Hunter had a positive start to the season, clearing a height of 16’6.75”, taking second place. Fellow vaulter Ian Bergere also had a great day and his performance really stood out, Roy said.
“I was really excited by his performance,” Roy said. “He’s a kid who really worked hard to get where he is, and I thought his opener at 16 feet today was just a great start, and he deserves everything he gets.”
The Huskies next meet, the UConn Heptathlon, takes place on Thursday and Friday in Storrs at the Hugh S. Greer Field House. The team is really excited for their first home meet of the season, where they will look to build off their strong day at Boston University.
Jorge Eckardt is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at jorge.eckardt@uconn.edu.