STORRS, CT– Coming off the program’s recent success in the South Florida Invitational and Dog Fight Challenge, the UConn track and field team returned home to host the Northeast Challenge on senior day.
Despite the challenges the weather created, the rain and cold temperatures could not put out the red-hot Huskies as the men’s and women’s respective teams took first place.
The men’s squad finished with 129 points, 56 points ahead of the second place-finishing Albany Great Danes, who tallied 73 on the weekend. Rhode Island rounded out the top three on the men’s side with 69 points. The women’s team finished with 161.5 points, with Albany (113) and Dartmouth (64.5) following behind.
On the men’s side, graduate student Travis Snyder continued his impressive season with a record-breaking performance in the pole vault, slashing an outdoor school record of 5.46m. Freshman Josh Mooney impressed in his first career outdoor multi-event, dominating the decathlon with 7026 points.
The men also saw first-place finishes in both the long jump and high jump, helped by impressive showings from Kasey Savage and Mawali Osunniyi. Savage led the way with his 7.44m leap in the long jump, while Osunniyi finished with 2.14m in the high jump.
On the women’s side, Caroline Towle achieved a new personal record in the 1500m, stamping a 4:39.25 to take third in the event. Junior A’liyah Thomas continued to build on her impressive season with standout performances in the long jump and 100m hurdles. Thomas, a native of Linden, NJ, took first place in both events with a 6.46m in the long jump and a 13.54 mark in the 100m hurdles.
In the 4×400, the group of Jalah Cooper, Caroline Rice, Anna Connors and Jessica Starr ran their way to a second-place finish, clocking a 3:55.42. Connors also impressed in the 400m and 200m as well, taking fourth place and first place respectively. Junior Alyssa Elliot closed out the weekend with a second-place finish in the women’s heptathlon, tallying 5298 points.
The Huskies will look to stay hot when they head to Columbus, OH for the Jesse Owens Classic on April 19-20. For coverage and live results, follow @UCONNTFXC for updates throughout the meet.