A new school year has come down to the Storrs campus, and with it another year of competition for your UConn Club Track and
ield team. As with all beginnings, there is a great amount of opportunity surrounding the group we have this year. The team is looking strong and optimistic this year with a host of new members and a healthy list of returners ready to get even faster and stronger than they were before. NIRCA be afraid.
On Saturday, December 2nd 2023 the new look UCCTF traveled up to the University of Boston to take part in their first meet of the year, the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. Alongside some of the fastest runners in the country, our members fought well and continued to push the bounds of this team’s history with 6 club records and many more leaderboard appearances.
To start off the day, Eric Meade had a monstrous performance in the 60mH, securing both a PR (8.95) and the 2nd all-time spot for the event. On the 60 flat club treasurer Paul Ponthempilly pulled out a major PR as well (7.83), taking down 0.11 seconds from his time last year at the same meet.
The 600m was a massive success for UCCTF this year, with standout performances from Ethan Giordano (1:26.36) and Allie West (1:50.04). The two freshmen broke the respective club records by wide margins, successfully stamping their names in the books in the first meet of their college careers.
In what was a grueling 1000m, Joseph Ham (2:47.73) and Kosta Boskovic (2:51.93) dueled it out, with Ham managing to hold off Boskovic for the win. The fierce competition between the two men pushed them both, as they managed to improve upon their own positions in the club record books with some great PRs.
There was a lot to see in the longer sprinting events, with many members of the team making major strides in their events. Shouting out our alum, Tyler Strong started things out in the 200m, with a PR of 23.98 breaking his way into the sub-24 league for the first time. Celestine Walliser (44.80) took home a PR and the club record in the 300m, which would only be the start of a very successful day for her. After an incredible amount of sections of the 3000m, the girl's 4x4 team was left as the last members of the team to compete. In an electric race, MJ Devivo, Celestine Walliser, Kayla Smith, and Alanna Smith broke the club record by an insane leap of 15 seconds with a time of 4:14.35. It was also a slight improvement on their outdoor record, which already gave them a gold medal at last year’s NIRCA Nationals. Truly a high note to end the team’s first meet on.
Last, but certainly not least, the field was equally a success for your UCCTF. Maria Ditota brought home a big PR in the high jump, managing to reverse limbo her way over the bar to a height of 1.40m. Maya Malatesta (2.70m) continued to show the excellence of this freshman class, setting a new club record in pole vault. Katie Floering (4.91m) went the distance and took the 2nd place spot in the long jump record books. This puts her 0.05m away from the current club record, threatening the mark that has stood for the past five years.
It wasn’t just Nico Young and Graham Blanks making history at this incredible BU season opener, as your UCCTF demonstrated that even on the first meet of the season they were ready. The road ahead is long and cold, but all signs are showing that this team is not going to have a quiet season. Now with winter break upon us, we’ll be going our separate ways, but we’ll be right back at you in the spring semester to continue a great 2023-2024 track season.
Written by Tomas Hinckley.
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