After almost two whole months since their last competition your UConn Club Track and Field team has just competed at one of the biggest meets of the season. The Penn St. Happy Valley Invitational was the venue for one of the biggest showdowns in the NIRCA season, bringing in teams from Cornell to ECU and everywhere in between. A heavy precursor for the coming NIRCA nationals, the team represented themselves well, proving themselves to be a fierce competitor and strong contender for the coming outdoor season.
As both the men’s and women’s teams were ranked 6th according to the preseason NIRCA coaches poll, members of the team were given a lot to think about on the 6-hour drive over to State College Pennsylvania. As such, they wasted no time upon arrival at the hotel to begin the psychological struggle against other schools by asserting their dominance over the Hilton Ramada and its pool, truly a clever strategic choice from President Trevor Zupan. The sheer athleticism demonstrated in volleyball instilled fear and dread in the minds of the teams, preparing them for what was to come on the track.
After what was an eventful night for many members, it was now time to head to Horace Ashfelter III indoor track bright and early to begin the competition. The first event for UConn was the Men’s 4000m DMR made up of Kosta Boskovic, Ross Relator, Tomas Hinckley, and Matt Enright (11:21.03), and the Women’s DMR made up of Giuliana Vinces, Audrey Cummings, Allie West, and Brooke Sheehan (14:20.07), wherein both teams had a strong start securing points. Although slightly more controversial on the men’s side, each squad placed 5th in what were some very high-level races.
In the 60mH Eric Meade (9.70) got business done and secured 2 more points for the team, joined by Bennet LeBree (10.71) who was able to sneak in and steal away another point for the men's team. The straight 60m was equally as eventful with Brandon Drummond (7.13) taking 1st place (the first of many UCCTF champions throughout the day). He stands now in 3rd place on the all-time list for UCCTF, less than .10 away from the first place spot, giving him a big goal to shoot for in coming meets. Hampton Cobb (7.35) placed 7th in the race as well, scoring 3 more points for the team. In the 400m, Nikolas Supczak tacked on one more point for the team by running a 53.88. The men's sprinters finished their big performances with the 4x200 team of Jonathan Gulish, B. Drummond, Justin Carroll, and Max Raha coming in 2nd place (1:33.88), just finishing behind Penn State’s A team. On the distance side, Michael Johnson PR’d in the 3k with a time of 10:45.
On the women’s side, no story for the day can be told without mentioning the incredible series of performances from Alanna Smith. In both the 60m (8.06) and 200m (26.04) she broke her own club records, getting 2nd place in both events and bringing 16 points for her team. She continued her streak on the day when joined by Kayla Smith, Sofia Duran, and Celestine Walliser for the 4x200, where the team dominated the meet taking 1st place and coming just a second away from their own club record. The 4x400 relay team (4:15.60), made up of C. Walliser, K. Smith, Vivian Glaser, and A. Smith, also had a day, giving lots of credence to Kosta Boskovic’s prediction that “our sprinter girls are not gonna lose a relay this whole season”. In what was an electric race to finish out the day for UCCTF they came in 1st in the meet and once again took the 2nd place spot on the club record books.
The straight 400m was equally eventful for C. Walliser, who managed to double up on her successful leg in the 4x400m with a time of 1:04.06, taking 3rd place in the meet and 2nd all-time for the club. She was followed up by freshman Allie West who also scored for the team, placing 6th in the meet just 2 seconds behind her teammate and a potential future spot in the record books for her. Last but not least, Brooke Sheehan rallied in the 800m for 7th place overall, securing 2 points for her team and a new PR of 2:34.76.
Finally given a chance to show their stuff, the throwers had many big performances, proving why they are a force to be reckoned with on the national stage this season. The rest of the teams could not escape in the women's shot put, wherein 4 of the top 8 performances were all UCCTF. Clarissa Nock (12.41m) took first in the meet as well as breaking her own record with a smashing PR, separating herself by almost 2 full meters from 2nd place. Ameya Arun (9.34m), Kathleen Dolan (9.04m), and Cassidy Ward (9.00) took 5th, 7th, and 8th places respectively for the team. On the men’s side, Raymond Lara (12.27) was the sole competitor for the team, but still got the job done outscoring many teams by coming in 5th place and securing 4 points.
The jumps were a huge source of points for both teams, with many competitors in each scoring points. Max Raha (6.09) was 1st in the team and 6th overall on the board in the long jump, followed closely behind by Ross Relator (5.97) who placed 8th, and Gavin Berger (5.90) in 10th place.
The triple jump was highlighted by the performance of Eric Meade (12.85) taking 1st place in what was really just the beginning for him. Gavin Berger (12.30) would come back for a more successful place in the competition to take 4th here. Ryan Chasamoff (11.89) and Christo Jamo (11.62) would take the last two spots on the leaderboard, making another event wherein UCCTF had half of all the total top spots. Next, in what was probably one of the most competitive events in the meet, the high jump was the place for the next top performance for Eric Meade (1.83) where he took part in the 3-way tie for 2nd place. Colin Longmire (1.72) also was part of a 3-way tie for 8th place, showing the strong competition in the meet and the resilience to push past for a top spot. Katie Floering was the women’s sole jumper on the day, in the long jump she made her mark taking 6th place with a distance of 4.66m.
Overall, both teams finished in 2nd place, trailing behind only the home crowd Penn St in both cases. It could not be clearer that the NIRCA coaches must’ve missed something in their analyses because UCCTF absolutely cleared the expectations set before them. Especially considering the numerous missing members who could not make the trip, this was an outstanding performance from both teams. Although much respect must be given to the victors of the day, Penn St, it is easy to bring your best when you’re at home. Meanwhile, if NIRCA is going to continue to underestimate this UConn squad, they’re going to find themselves duly dumbfounded come nationals when the entire squad is prepared and ready to step back in the ring for the number one spot. Until then, be sure to check back for results of the coming Ocean Breeze, Brown, and Harvard Invitational meets to see the progress of your favorite club track and field team.
Written by: Tomas Hinckley
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