The Huskies are stacking the box in the 500m dash, sending six runners to take part in the field of 27: sophomore Daniel Linehan, junior Kyle Trocki and freshmen Omar Gebril, Terrell Cunningham, Colt Nichols and Connor Blodgette. (Charlotte Lao/The Daily Campus)
The men’s track and field squad heads to Boston, Massachusetts this weekend to take part in the New England Championships against other area schools, like Central Connecticut, Hartford, Brown, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, among others.
“We haven’t taken part in this meet in five years due to AAC scheduling, but we’re excited to compete,” head coach Greg Roy said.
UConn will send their full roster of athletes to the event, which will take place in the Reggie Lewis Track and Field Center in Boston. The Huskies’ stiffest competition will come from the Northeastern squad, led by junior runner Marc Rienas, and Rhode Island, led by junior vaulter Ryan Wilkes.
The Huskies will look to lean on their long distance running events, the team’s biggest strength, to take home the victory, Roy said.
Senior captain Mike O’Donnell will have UConn’s best chance to take home a win in the 3000m run, as his best time this year of 8:12.97 is nearly ten seconds better than his nearest competitor, Chance Lamberth of Northeastern. Lamberth’s qualifying time of 8:22.26 is closer to John Benner of Vermont in eighth place than it is to O’Donnell.
UConn is projected to dominate the 5000m run, with Huskies taking up all of the top three spots in the leaderboard. Junior Patrick Begley will take on the field in the 5000m as the heavy favorite. His qualifying mark of 14:26.80 places him as the 19th ranked runner in the nation and second in the American. Junior Kyle Brackman and redshirt junior Michael McGonnigle will be nipping at his heels, with qualifying times of 14:36.13 and 14:50.25 respectively.
Freshman phenom Tyler Green will face stiff competition in the 800m. Green’s 1:50.30 qualifying time is the best mark in the American this year, but it ranks second in the event to Northeastern junior Marc Rienas, the ninth-ranked 800m runner in the nation. Freshman Joshua Bedard will also take part in the event, with a respectable qualifying time of 1:56.16.
Senior runner Trent Beram will have a good chance at taking home a win in the 200m, as his qualifying time of 21.83 is third-best among all participants. Beram will be looking to move up the AAC standings, where he currently ranks 10th in the event.
The Huskies are stacking the box in the 500m dash, sending six runners to take part in the field of 27: sophomore Daniel Linehan, junior Kyle Trocki and freshmen Omar Gebril, Terrell Cunningham, Colt Nichols and Connor Blodgette.
Luke Swanson is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at luke.swanson@uconn.edu.
