Connecticut track and field is splitting up into two groups this weekend, as half the squad will stay on campus to participate in the UConn Northeast Challenge and the other half will travel to Durham, N.C. to compete in the Duke Invitational.
The UConn Northeast Challenge is a two-day event — kicking off on Friday morning and concluding Saturday afternoon — and will host schools from all around the Northeast, including Albany, Boston, Central Connecticut State, Wesleyan, Yale, Columbia, Northeastern and more.
At last year’s UConn Northeast Challenge, the Huskies’ men’s and women’s teams both took first place. The men put up 112 points, totaling six first place finishes and beating out Rhode Island’s 93 points and Harvard’s 85 points. The women posted a total of 172.5 points with five first place finishes, including two by current junior A’liyah Thomas. The women took home first place by a wide margin, as Harvard came behind them with a score of 133 points and Albany finished in third with 67 points.
The Duke Invitational will take place at Morris Williams Stadium and will begin Thursday and conclude on Saturday. Other schools that will be participating in the Duke Invitational are North Carolina, College of Charleston, Wake Forest, Charlotte and UNC Wilmington.
The meet is expected to kick off at 10 a.m. on Friday. The first event being the men’s decathlon 100m, followed by the women’s heptathlon 100m hurdles at 10:15 a.m., before ending the day with the men’s hammer throw, anticipated to take place around 6:30 p.m. On day two, the meet will start at 10 a.m. as the men will take the track to race in the 110m hurdles. Day two of the meet will be far longer, as the final event is expected to start around 9:55 p.m., being the men’s 5000m as part of the Norm Ogilvie Distance Carnival. To conclude the event, day three will start at 11 a.m. with the women’s javelin, long jump and 4×100 relay final, and the men’s triple jump and pole vault. The final event of the meet will take place at 4:15 p.m., when the men run the 4×400 relay final.
Only a month away from the Big East Outdoor Championships, the Huskies have had a successful start to their outdoor campaign and are looking forward to being able to continue their strong season in Durham, N.C. and Storrs, Conn.