The UConn track & field teams traveled to Tampa Bay, FL this past weekend to compete in the USF Invitational. The meet played host to numerous universities, including Boston University, Pittsburgh, Murray State, Rutgers and many more. It was a two-day event, as the men’s meet took place on Friday, followed by the women’s meet on Saturday.
The men’s team had a successful weekend, as the Huskies totaled 13 athletes, placing in the top-five of their event, including two first-place finishes.
In the 800m, senior Mahamed Sharif finished first with a time of 1:49.99 seconds, beating South Florida’s Karim Belmahdi by less than a second.
The Huskies also saw an impressive performance out of freshman Kyle Johnson, who placed first in the triple jump with a mark of 15.52m.
Just behind Johnson were Kasey Savage and Joron Harrell, who placed third and fourth. Dar Janovic placed second in the high jump, leaping two meters and tying with Edward Waters Anthony Glover. Travis Roux and Alex Krause both had strong results in the hammer throw, placing second and third. Marc Morrison received third place in the long jump, with a strong result of 7.64m. Travis Snyder placed third in the pole vault, while teammate Garrett McHeard came in third in the shot put.
The women’s team also saw some success in South Florida, finishing with six top-five and two first-place results.
Junior Natalia Surdej came in first in the hammer throw with an impressive mark of 60.12m.
A’liyah Thomas then followed that up by placing first in the long jump with a distance of 6.46m, just edging out Pittsburgh’s Ilse Steigenga, who finished with a result of 6.45m.
Sofia Wittman tied for third in the pole vault with South Florida’s Madeline Dutz. Jasmine Barrow placed second in the triple jump, finishing just .05m behind Jacksonville’s Ma’kala Davis. Emily Alty’s mark of 45.50m on the discus throw resulted in third place, as Madison Relyea finished in second in the 1500m.
The Huskies look to have another strong showing next weekend, as the team will split up to compete in two events. While half of the team will remain in Storrs to host and compete in the UConn Northeast Challenge, the other half will travel to Durham, NC, to take part in the Duke Invitational.