2008 Woodie Awards
UConn At Full Force For Husky Invite
Track and Field
Mike Barnhart
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: Sports
Men's track and field head coach Greg Roy believes that he is going to learn a lot about his team this weekend at the Husky Spring Invite. Because of injuries and split-squad meets, the men's track team has not competed as a full unit at all this season. That will all change this weekend when the Huskies will attempt to impress on their home turf with a complete squad.
"This is the first time we are going to have all hands on deck since and I'm excited to see where we are heading into the Big East championships," Roy said. The Spring Invite will be the only team-scored meet that the Huskies compete in besides the Big East championships in two weeks. "These guys have been progressing well individually, so we'll see if they can bring it together," the coach said.
One athlete that has caught the eye of Roy over the past few weeks is sprinter / hurdler Basil Campbell. The senior ran some of his best times down in Miami last weekend en route to two top-10 finishes and an 11th place finish amidst a stacked field of opponents. Coach Roy expects Campbell to continue running well and will be counting on him to score points in the 100- and 200-meter dashes as well as the high hurdle events.
Distance runners Brian Gagnon and Mike Rutt will also be looking to continue their steady seasons with high finishes in the 1500 meter run. Andrew Dubs, who won both the shot put and discus in Miami, should continue to shine here in Storrs in those same events.
A handful of teams from the Northeast that will be making the trip to Storrs include Providence, Boston University, and Rhode Island. Keith Buchanan from BU will provide a formidable challenge for Basil Campbell in multiple sprint events. Also look for Providence's Chris McDermott to keep pace with Gagnon and Rutt in the distance races.
Roy fully expects his team to develop an edge this weekend that will carry over into the Big East Championships. However, according to him, the biggest challenge his team will face is being able to maintain that edge after the Big East championships until the NCAA regional championships come around at the end of May.
"This is the first time we are going to have all hands on deck since and I'm excited to see where we are heading into the Big East championships," Roy said. The Spring Invite will be the only team-scored meet that the Huskies compete in besides the Big East championships in two weeks. "These guys have been progressing well individually, so we'll see if they can bring it together," the coach said.
One athlete that has caught the eye of Roy over the past few weeks is sprinter / hurdler Basil Campbell. The senior ran some of his best times down in Miami last weekend en route to two top-10 finishes and an 11th place finish amidst a stacked field of opponents. Coach Roy expects Campbell to continue running well and will be counting on him to score points in the 100- and 200-meter dashes as well as the high hurdle events.
Distance runners Brian Gagnon and Mike Rutt will also be looking to continue their steady seasons with high finishes in the 1500 meter run. Andrew Dubs, who won both the shot put and discus in Miami, should continue to shine here in Storrs in those same events.
A handful of teams from the Northeast that will be making the trip to Storrs include Providence, Boston University, and Rhode Island. Keith Buchanan from BU will provide a formidable challenge for Basil Campbell in multiple sprint events. Also look for Providence's Chris McDermott to keep pace with Gagnon and Rutt in the distance races.
Roy fully expects his team to develop an edge this weekend that will carry over into the Big East Championships. However, according to him, the biggest challenge his team will face is being able to maintain that edge after the Big East championships until the NCAA regional championships come around at the end of May.
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