The UConn men’s and women’s track and field teams will head to Philadelphia, Penn. to face Florida State, Georgia Tech, UMass, Boston College, Michigan, Oregon and others for the 129th Penn Relays.
The first track event is set to start at 5:45 p.m., with the women’s 400-meter hurdle, and the last track event, the men’s 10000-meter championship, is set to start at 10:30 p.m. Also, for the track events, the women’s and men’s teams will alternate, with the women’s starting first.
The first field event will start at 12:00 p.m. with the women’s hammer throw, followed by the women’s hammer throw championships at 2:00 p.m. The men’s first field event is at 3:30 p.m. with the men’s hammer throw, followed by the men’s hammer throw championship at 5:00 p.m.
Some other events taking place are the 1500-meter race, 3000-meter steeplechase and the 5000-meter race for both men and women.
Some players to highlight from last week are Diarmuid O’Connor and Maresa Hense, who both achieved BIG EAST Men’s and Women’s Field Athlete of the Week. O’Connor got the honor by setting a new personal best in the decathlon with 7,658 points and achieved top two finishes in all 10 events. O’Connor now ranks first in the BIG EAST in the decathlon and ninth in the country. Hense, who’s a freshman, took first place in the heptathlon with 5,733 points, which was the second most points in program history. Hense achieved that score by getting first place in five events and ranks first in the BIG EAST in the heptathlon and sixth in the country.
Some other track and field athletes to highlight are Faith Kiplimo and Josh Mooney, who received BIG EAST Women’s Track Athlete and Men’s Field Athlete of the Week just two weeks ago at the Crimson Tide Invitational. Kiplimo finished second in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the Crimson Tide with a time of 10:07.45. That time ranked first in the BIG EAST and 14th in the country this year, along with second all-time in UConn program history.
On the men’s side, sophomore Josh Mooney placed fifth in the javelin throw with a throw of 68.01 meters. Mooney’s throw elevated him into the top 10 for longest javelin throw in UConn program history.
It will be an exciting showing this week for our Huskies, with great performances from all their athletes in recent weeks; it will be interesting to see who breaks out next.