What. A. Weekend.
The UConn Club Track and Field team were out in full force this weekend, competing at the NIRCA National Championships in Olivet, MI. Coming home with 11 medals, and 20 additional all-Americans, it was a huge success across the club. Overall, UCCTF finished in 4th place in the men’s and women’s competitions.
The greatest statement from UCCTF came in the very last event: the 4x400m relays. The women were up first, and the quartet of Celestine Walliser, MJ Devivo, Kayla Smith, and Alanna Smith were able to take home top spot with a time of 4:14.94. This blew the competition out of the water, and also broke the club record by a massive 13 seconds.
The men were up next to defend their title in this event from 2022. The quartet of Oscar Frost, Joseph Rychwalski, Jaden Astle, and Nick Sivo delivered, fending off the competition to bring another gold medal to Storrs. Their time of 3:21.44 was also a club record, besting the previous mark by five seconds. Overall, the support and standard of the relays were demonstrative of the team spirit and talent that was on display throughout the weekend, making it an apt finish for the squad.
The women’s 4x100 of K. Smith, A. Smith, Devivo, and April Davis were also able to bring home a silver medal and a club record of 50.74 on the first day of competition. The men’s quartet of Jon Garcia, Frost, Rychwalski, and Max Raha narrowly missed out on a medal, taking home 4th place.
As ever, the UConn throwers dominated the competition in both the men’s and women’s flights. Clarissa Nock and Colton Lavoie both took home gold medals in the shot put, which was certainly a highlight of the weekend. Nock threw a personal best and club record of 12.70m, while Lavoie also threw a personal best of 12.86m. Freshman Raymond Lara also took home a bronze medal in the shot put with a 12.27m effort. Kathleen Dolan and Jacob O’Reilly were able to become all-Americans in this event, both finishing in 7th position.
The discus also yielded more all-American certificates for UCCTF throwers. Nock and Ameya Arun were able to finish 6th and 8th respectively, bringing home yet more points for the throwing contingent. Lavoie and Lara also increased their points tally, finishing 6th and 7th respectively.
A star performer across both days and numerous events was freshman Eric Meade. His highlight came early on the Sunday, as he stormed his way to third place in the 110mH with a time of 16.23. John Ferrarelli was also able to sneak into the top eight with a 17.29 clocking. Devivo became an individual all-American to go along with her relay medals in the 100mH, finishing in 6th place.
Meade was also able to become an individual all-American in both the triple and high jumps. His 12.82m hop, skip and jump earned him 5th place overall in a tough field. Davis was also able to finish in 6th position in the women’s triple jump with a 10.16m effort, after narrowly missing out on a top-8 finish in the long jump, despite finishing in tied 6th with her best jump. In the high jump, Meade was able to clear his opening height of 1.80m to finish in 7th position.
The long jump was also a jewel in the UCCTF crown this weekend in Michigan. Jumping head Raha was the best finisher, bringing home some hardware after finishing in third place. His 6.44m effort was just behind his club record mark, but shows signs of a good season to come. Hampton Cobb was not far behind, jumping 6.40m. Unfortunately, this 4cm deficit between him and Raha brought him down to 6th position. This has been his best meet of the season so far, though, and he will be the first to tell you that he is not done yet. Ferrarelli was also able to become a two-time all-American this year, finishing in 8th position in the long jump with a 6.25m effort.
Not to be outdone, the sprinting contingent were also very successful across the weekend. Nick Sivo cemented himself in the UCCTF hall of fame, securing a bronze medal in both the 200m and 400m. His 22.45 second clocking in the former distance places him second all-time. Senior Garcia was unfortunate not to make the finals, finishing in 9th position in prelims. Sivo also broke the 50 second barrier once again, battling through a tough headwind to finish at 49.99 seconds. Jaden Astle was also able to come through in a season’s best time of 50.54, which was enough to secure him fourth place overall.
It was double trouble for the women’s competition, as K. Smith and A. Smith showed out to make the 100m and 200m final. A. Smith was able to take home second place in the 200m with a stellar 26.77 second clocking, despite a hamstring issue. K. Smith was able to finish 6th in this final, clocking in at 27.11. The roles were reversed in the 100m, with K. Smith finishing in 4th and A. Smith in 5th. Finishing with times of 13.06 and 13.09 respectively, it was difficult to pick between the pair. President Rychwalski also became an individual all-American after making the final in the 100m with 11.19 seconds. His sixth place finish in the final is a fantastic way for him to cap off his UCCTF nationals career.
Overall, it was a fantastic culmination of what has been a superb season for the UConn Club Track and Field Team. Seeing so many different names at the top of the standings is always fantastic, but also the number of personal bests throughout the weekend was great to watch. The depth of the squad is evident in the relay results, as well as the spread of solid results across the track, throwing and jumping events. It is hard to believe that any of the teams present at NIRCA Nationals have been working as hard as this group of individuals, and they are not done yet. As we enter the final throes of the season, the team will travel closer to home to compete at Eastern this Friday.
We conclude with a shoutout to those holding it down for UCCTF at the UConn Northeast Challenge this weekend. Tyler Doiron unleashed his incredible athleticism for all of DI to see, getting a staggering 14.59m in Triple Jump and 1.93m in High Jump. Both demolished the existing club records. On the other runway, Connor Norton threw an impressive season’s best of 47.50m in Javelin.
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