Spring Break
Men's and women's track wrap up Big East
Matt McDonough
Issue date: 5/10/09 Section: Sports
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UConn broke many school records en route to second place. Mandela Graves-Fulgham recorded a school record in the 400-meter dash, finishing second. Trisha Ann-Hawthorne defended her 200 and 100-meter dash titles, winning both events for the second straight year. UConn's 4X100 relay team took first place, while the 4X800 relay team placed second, in the process clinching another school record for the Huskies.
In the field, Husky highjumpers Carin Knight and Rachael Porter finished first and second, respectively.
Senior Amanda Martin came in first in the javelin contest, while All-American Victoria Flowers finished sixth in the shot put. It was a strong finish to a great season that included a Big East indoor championship, complemented by an outstanding runner-up performance by the outdoor team.
As for the UConn men's track team, the Huskies placed sixth at the Big East championships this past weekend at Villanova. Notre Dame overtook Louisville's day one lead, and the Fighting Irish won the title over the Cardinals by half a point. Georgetown, Cincinatti and Rutgers placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Huskies' lone title was an outstanding performance by senior Sean Smith. He won the decathlon in day two, beating teammate Ben Waruch who led the event after day one. Sophomore Dan Holst finished seventh in the 800-meter. Both Anthony Burris and Kyle Edmonds qualified for the finals in the 400-meter hurdles.
Burris' preliminary time of 51.11 qualified him for the NCAA regional and was good enough to place him first in the heat with the best time in school history. However, he placed second in the finals.
Kyle Duggan finished third in the pole vault and qualified for the NCAA regional. Andrew Dubs also qualified for the regionals in the shot put, finishing third overall. Javelin thrower Ed Strosnick placed fourth.
Although three Huskies qualified for the NCAAs, UConn may look back and see their sixth-place finish as a missed opportunity. They were tied for second along with Notre Dame, while Louisville held the lead. But it was the Irish, not the Huskies, who made a comeback to steal the title from the Cardinals.
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