Storrs, CT — UConn track and field swept both the men’s and women’s competitions at their final regular-season home meet, the Northeast Challenge, held Saturday in Storrs.
The Huskies delivered dominant performances across the board, scoring 220 points on the women’s side and 166 on the men’s to take top honors at the multi-team meet.
Heptathlon standout Maresa Hense (Germany) captured the title with 5,733 points, the second-highest total in program history.
Audrey Kozak (Shelton, CT) added a fourth-place finish with 4,671 points, ninth all-time for UConn.
Diarmuid O’Connor (Cork, Ireland) claimed the decathlon title with a personal best 7,658 points.
In field events, Kasey Savage (Horsham, PA) won the high jump at 2.05m, while Kyle Johnson (Montverde, FL) took the triple jump title with 15.40m, followed by Marc Morrison (Orlando, FL) at 14.84m. Morrison also broke the school record in the long jump during the meet. Travis Roux (Northport, NY) placed second in the hammer throw at 61.13m, sixth best in program history. On the women’s side, Natalia Surdej (Lancaster, NY) won the hammer throw at 60.43m, and Zayin Roe (Richmond, VA) topped the triple jump with a personal best of 12.70m, landing fifth in school history.
Track highlights included a 1–2 finish in the women’s 400m hurdles by Gabrielle Davis (Franklin Park, NJ) at 1:00.22 and Jessica Starr (Cobalt, CT), whose 1:00.25 time moved her to third all-time for the program.
On the men’s side, Terrel Williams (Maplewood, NJ) claimed the 110m hurdles in 13.88, and Mekhi Stone (Smyrna, GA) clocked a personal best 46.31 to win the 400m. Brendan Kovar (Rockaway, NJ) finished third at 46.92, good for eighth in UConn history. Damon Simpson (Easton, PA) placed second in the 200m with 21.24, earning a top-10 program spot.
Distance events saw Sarah Trainor (Poughkeepsie, NY) take second in the 1500m at 4:28.89, and Megan Minicucci (Bolton, CT) win the 5000m with 18:29.46. Danielle Adams (East Hampton, CT) and Megan Perrotta (Berlin, CT) went 4-5 in the 800m.
Director of Track & Field Beth Alford-Sullivan praised the full-team effort.
“These Huskies were on today. We had a tremendous environment for our last regular season home meet at the Northeast Challenge. The weather came through and perked up the team. We competed hard in every single event… What I’m really excited about is the team atmosphere. We will regroup, get through the Penn Relays and finals, and by the middle of May, the UConn Huskies will be ready to go.”
Up Next: UConn heads to the Penn Relays, one of the nation’s premier track and field events, starting Thursday, April 24 at the University of Pennsylvania.
