The UConn track and field team is heading to Cambridge, Mass. for the Crimson Elite Meet at Harvard University on Friday. The team will then take a quick trip to Boston for the Bruce Lehane Scarlett and White Invitational on Saturday.
UConn is coming off consecutive weeks with great performances at meets, breaking school records in multiple events.
At the UPenn Invite two weeks ago, the Huskies dominated in the field events and held their own on the track. This meet resulted in Connecticut sweeping the Big East Track Athlete of the Week awards with Jenna Zydanowicz and Marc Morrison, both taking home the honors. Zydanowicz was three seconds away from breaking the school record while Morrison broke the school and meet record with a jump of almost 26 feet. Other meet records broken at the UPenn Invite included Kasey Savage, who also broke the long jump record, and Mekhi Stone and Orenthal Singletary breaking 48 seconds and the subsequent meet record.
The Huskies kept that momentum going into the Coach Greg Roy-al Rumble on their home track. Kyle Johnson set a school record for triple jump last Saturday after jumping almost 53 feet. Terell Williams tied his school record in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing in 7.7 seconds. Williams dominated the field and took home first place in the prelims and finals of the hurdles. The New Jersey native also holds a share of the facility record at Boston University, a feat he accomplished in 2023.
Saturday’s Bruce Lehane Scarlett and White Invitational will honor the legendary Boston University coach. Lehane coached at BU from 1982-2017 where he coached 50 All-Americans, seven national champions, seven world champions and even two Olympians. The South Boston, Mass. native passed away in 2017 and his school has honored him with the Invitational since 2019.
Last year’s Scarlett and White Invitational saw some impressive finishes from the Huskies with competition from all over the country shipping up to Boston. Johnson competed in the long jump and finished second place by a quarter of an inch. Savage beat out former teammate and UConn alum Joron Harrell for first place in triple jump. Morrison also finished fifth in a field of over 20 competitors.
A’liyah Thomas qualified for the finals of the 60-meter hurdles and finished in fifth place in the finals. On the men’s side of the hurdles, Carl Gaines qualified for the finals by the skin of his teeth. Gaines held his own in the finals, finishing in fourth with a time of 8.26 seconds.
As the Big East Championship looms at the end of the month, Connecticut has four more meets to tune up before they defend their Big East title.