Connecticut Men Roll Up Conference Record Point Total (287.5) And Amass Nearly 500 Combined With Women

By Oliver Hinson for DyeStat

Photo by Greg Carroccio/Villanova

Villanova, Pa. – After breaking the competition wide open on Day 2, the Huskies of UConn claimed the men's and women's Big East Outdoor Track and Field titles. The UConn men scored 287.5 points, while Villanova finished second with 162. On the women's side, UConn scored 210.33 points, also beating Villanova, second with 140.

Here's a recap of the most important action, starting with Day 1:

Thursday, May 9

Butler started off the men’s action with a bang, taking the first three places in a veteran-led 10,000. Senior Will Minnette closed in 60 seconds for the win, setting a PR of 28:54 and claiming his first individual conference title. Senior Florian LePallac, who led the way for the Bulldogs when they won the Big East Cross Country Championships in October, finished second in 28:59, followed by junior Jack McMahon in third.

In the women’s 10,000, Georgetown junior Chloe Scrimgeour won her fourth individual Big East title, cruising to the victory in 32:36. Scrimgeour and Providence junior Laura Mooney were all alone for most of the race, pulling away from the pack after just two laps. On the 18th lap, Scrimgeour clocked a 76 to pull away from Mooney, and she kept that pace, splitting a 5:00 last 1,600 to win by 40 seconds.

UConn dominated the women’s high jump, taking the first two places and three of the top six. Senior Roschell Clayton, sixth at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, won the event with just one jump. She entered at 1.76 meters (5-9.25), a higher mark than any other competitor cleared, and she got it on her first attempt.

Villanova’s Tristan Bolinsky set a PR by 10 feet in the men’s hammer throw, throwing 58.56 meters (192-1) on his last throw after four consecutive fouls. Bolinsky won the discus throw at this meet two years ago, but this was his first title in the hammer. UConn teammates Alex Krause and Travis Roux took second and third in 56.16 meters (184-3) and 56.12 meters (184-1), respectively.

The women’s hammer throw was a closer affair. DePaul senior Billie Martin threw 59.41 meters (194-11) on her first throw, which ended up being the winning mark, but UConn’s Natalia Surdej came close to eclipsing Martin on her last throw with a mark of 59.06 meters (193-9).

After the first day, Butler led the men with 26 points (all from the men’s 10,000), while Villanova led the women with 33.5 points.

Friday, May 10

Friday might as well have been UConn Day at these championships. The Huskies took commanding leads on both sides, thanks in large part to a combined 57 points in the men’s decathlon and women’s heptathlon. By the end of day 2, the men led the team scoring by 39 points, while the women led by a whopping 71.33 points.

In the decathlon, UConn swept the top four places, led by junior Diarmuid O’Connor, who scored 7,610 points and won six of the 10 events in just his second college decathlon. Behind him were three freshmen: Joshua Mooney, Michael Johnson, and Dar Jankovic. They combined to win all 10 of the events.

In the heptathlon, UConn junior Alyssia Elliott led another show of Husky dominance, winning with 5,003 points and winning five of seven events. Elliott won the pentathlon at the Big East Indoor Track and Field Championships in February, but this is her first individual title at the outdoor conference meet. Four other Huskies scored in the event, including fellow junior Katelyn Reid in second place and freshman Audrey Kozak in fourth. Marquette’s Mila Puseljic took third.

It was a similar story in the women’s pole vault, where UConn put on another 1-2-3 sweep. Sophomores Kalli Knott and Rachel Mason both missed their first two attempts at 3.93 meters (12-10.75), but Knott prevailed after clearing it on her last attempt. Mason took second, while senior Sofia Wittman got third with a vault of 3.73 meters (12-2.75). 

In the women’s long jump, UConn junior A’liyah Thomas won a close battle with DePaul’s Jaiah Hopf. Thomas jumped 5.97 meters (19-7) on her second jump, which gave her a comfortable lead over the rest of the field and ended up the winning mark, but Hopf gave her a scare on her last jump with a mark of 5.92 meters (19-5.25).

On the men’s side, UConn took another 28 points in the long jump with a 1-2-3 sweep and four athletes in the top five. No one came within six inches of the Huskies’ top three, which consisted of junior Kasey Savage, junior Marc Morrison, and senior Richmond Kwaateng. Savage, who jumped 7.30 meters (23-11.5) for the win, had won two Big East high jump titles previously, but this was his first in the long jump.

The distance events capped off the night, starting with the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Providence junior Patrick Thygesen surged in the last two laps to win the men’s race with a time of 8:50.07, followed by Butler’s Martin Kovacech in second in 8:53.65 and UConn’s Christopher Lepore in third in 8:54.58.

The women’s race was tight and tactical. Georgetown junior Mary Hennelly took the pack through the first 1,000 in 3:30, and they clicked off mostly 83-second laps until the bell. Going into the last lap, it was Hennelly, UConn’s Rachael Woodruff, and Butler’s Wiktoria Klebowska in a tight line, and Hennelly held on for the win with a last lap of 75.09.

The women’s 5,000 was a different story. Providence’s Kimberly May, who took third in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, led from the gun in her first collegiate 5,000. By the 3k mark, she led by 14 seconds. By the time she crossed the line in 15:26, that lead had expanded to nearly 30 seconds. DePaul senior Olivia Borowiak took second in 15:55, and Georgetown senior Maggie Donahue was third in 16:00.

In the men’s 5,000, Villanova’s Marco Langon battled it out in the last two laps with Butler’s Jesse Hamlin. Both hit the bell at 12:49, but Langon, a freshman, clocked a monster 55.77 last lap to take home the win in 13:45.50. Hamlin finished in 13:46.04, followed by fellow Bulldog LePallec in 13:53.88.

Saturday, May 11

The Huskies clearly weren't content with their lead, as they continued to pile it on during the last day. UConn scored a combined 277.5 points on Day 3, with a majority of them coming from field events.

On the men's side, they scored at least 20 points in every field event.

In the high jump, they went 1-2-3, led by freshman Mawali Osunniyi, who cleared 2.11 meters (6-11). Osunniyi won the high jump at the indoor conference meet, too, and he hasn't finished lower than fourth in a meet all year. Junior Kasey Savage, who won Friday's long jump, took second, while freshman Dar Jankovic, fourth in the decathlon, took third.

UConn also went 1-2 in the pole vault, led by junior Patrick Oatman, who cleared 4.96 meters (16-3.25). Senior Travis Snyder took second with a vault of 4.86 meters (15-11.25), beating Butler's Luke Walden on misses.

Meanwhile, Villanova junior Travis Bolinsky added to his win in the hammer throw on Thursday taking first place in the shot put with a mark of 16.42 meters (53-10.50). He also took second in the discus, throwing 48.62 meters (159-6), but UConn junior Travis Roux claimed that title, throwing 51.41 meters (168-8), just a foot off his PR.

The women's field events were more balanced. The Huskies earned a good chunk of their points in the triple jump, where they put three in the top five. Senior Jasmine Barrow, who was third in the long jump on Friday, enjoyed a dominant performance, winning with a jump of 12.75 meters (41-10). DePaul’s Hopf, who was second in the long jump, finished with a mark of 12.34 meters (40-6). UConn's Zayin Roe took third with a jump of 12.29 meters (40-4). 

DePaul's Kash Allen won the shot put with a mark of 15.16 meters (49-9). Allen competed in all four throwing events, and this was the only one she didn't set a PR in, despite it being her highest finish. Villanova senior Jordan Williams took second at 14.33 meters (47-0.25), improving on her eighth place finish in the hammer throw.

On the track, Villanova continued its distance success. Liam Murphy and Charlie O’Donovan, both of whom were on the 4xmile team that set the collegiate record at the Penn Relays last month, took first and second in the men's 1,500. Murphy ran 3:39.00 for the win, closing in 55.97 to put a solid gap on O’Donovan, who finished in 3:40.36.

Abel Teffra, whose Georgetown squad finished third in that Penn Relays 4xmile race, took another third place, running 3:40.46. He was closely followed by his teammate, Camden Gilmore, who ran 3:40.52.

The Villanova 1-2 and Georgetown 3-4 repeated itself in the men's 800. Sean Dolan, who took second in the 800 at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, got the win and a PR today, running a blistering 1:45.83. That time gives him the fifth best mark in the NCAA this year and the second best in the East.

Behind him, freshman Dan Watcke earned Villanova eight more points, running 1:47.00 to hold off Georgetown’s Tim McInerney, who ran 1:47.06. Fellow Hoya Matthew Payamps took fourth with a time of 1:48.79.

Madison Martinez delivered Villanova another 10 points with a victory in the women's 800, running 2:04.18. The race went out hot; Villanova sophomore Micah Trusty hit the 400 in 59.13, while Martinez sat in sixth. She came back with a 64 in her second lap, though, to win her second individual Big East title. 

In the women's 1,500, Georgetown junior Melissa Riggins pulled away in the third lap, running a 67-second quarter to pull away from Providence’s Shannon Flockhart. Riggins won in 4:08.82, the seventh best time in the NCAA this year. Flockhart finished in 4:11.20, giving her the 16th best time. 

Villanova freshman Olivia Allen won the women's 400 hurdles with a time of 59.75, a personal best and her first time under 60. 

The men's 100 produced a photo finish. Villanova sophomore Amiri Prescod took the win in 10.48 seconds, inching in front of DePaul junior Dominic Cole by five thousandths of a second. That was a PR for Prescod, who also took third in the 200 behind Butler senior Like Finnegan and Cole, respectively. 

The 4x800 and 4x400 relays finished off the day. In the men's 4x800, Georgetown pulled off an upset over Villanova, winning by a second in 7:23.31. Georgetown’s second and third legs, Matthew Rizzo and Parker Stokes, did a lot of the leg work (literally), as Rizzo ran the only sub-1:50 split and Stokes ran a 1:50.26 to give anchor Gilmore some breathing room. 

In the women's 4x800, Providence's May showed she wasn't too fatigued from Friday's 5,000, as she split a 2:04.29 on the anchor leg to deliver the Friars an easy victory. They crossed the line in 8:33.43, six seconds faster than Georgetown. 

The penultimate event of the day may have been the most exciting: Villanova narrowly inched ahead of St. John's in the women's 4x400, running 3:40.00 to St. Johns’ 3:40.01. UConn was leading after the third leg, but Villanova’s Trusty and St Johns’ Nora Haugen split 53.10 and 53.19 on the anchor legs, respectively, with Haugen just barely hitting the line first.