Coming off the program’s impressive showing in the Dog Fight Invitational and the Raleigh Relays, the UConn Track and Field team will head down to Tampa, Fla for the South Florida Invitational.
This meet will be hosted by the University of South Florida Bulls, whose men’s team ranks No. 15 in the nation, and their women’s squad boasts three top-25 marks.
The Huskies saw 41 top-five finishes in their previous outings, with the men’s team taking first place in the Dog Fight with 170 points. Junior Travis Rioux won Big East Men’s Field Athlete of the Week by breaking his personal best in the hammer throw at the UConn Dog Fight Invite. His mark of 60.46m ranks eighth all-time in the UConn outdoor records list and second best in the conference.
The dominance in the hammer throw carried over to the women’s team as well, with junior Natalia Surdej also setting a new personal best of 62.48, taking first place. In the 4×400 event, the squad of Mia Powell, Anna Connors, Jalah Cooper and Jessica Starr ran a season-best mark of 3:48.11 to add a first-place tally for the Huskies.
Chloe Thomas was a major standout in the Raleigh Relays, taking second place in the 5k event with a UConn-record 15:35 stamp. Junior Jailya Ash also broke a school record in the outdoor 100-meter hurdle event, finishing with a 13.29.
One runner to keep an eye out for in this one is Bulls star Goodness Iredia, who holds the third-best triple jump mark in the NCAA. The USF men’s team currently holds the second fastest 4x100m in the nation (39.03) from Lincoln, Metelus, Croal and Saminu and the sixth fastest 4x400m relay from Reid, Moronta, Metelus and Bouie (3:02.16).
This race will also see reigning ACC field athlete of the week Isle Steigenga of Pittsburgh, who posted new personal bests in three of the seven heptathlon events; the shot put, javelin throw and 800-meter race. The Netherlands native will compete in the long jump and javelin throw on Saturday.
The men’s team will compete in their first event on Friday in the Hammer at noon ET and the girls will follow on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET in the same event. Coverage and results can be tracked on www.halfmiletiming.com.