Three student-athletes on the UConn women’s track and field team took home gold in their respective events at the 2019 American Athletic Conference Track and Field Indoor Championships, a two-day event at the Birmingham CrossPlex facility in Alabama, this past weekend.
Divine Oladipo in shot put, Kat Surin in the 400 meter dash, and Susan Aneno in the 800 meter run all earned gold medals. With a total of 17 events scored, the Huskies posted an overall top-5 finish.
In finals on Saturday, Oladipo reclaimed her shot put championship title with a throw of 16.59 m, a new meet record. The junior surpassed the 16.50 m mark set at last year’s indoor championships. Oladipo had previously taken home gold in 2017.
In the mile run, sophomore Mia Nahom led the pack for the Huskies. Her time of 4:50.96 placed her second overall and was just shy of the meet record of 4:46.21. Talia Staiger, a senior, posted a season-best time of 4:54.66, for a fifth-place finish.
Having competed in the 400 meter dash with success every year, Surin, a senior, held up her first gold medal, with a time of 53.97. Surin finished first in the prelims as well, with a qualifying time of 53.89.
Aneno, also a senior, is now a two-time champion in the 800 meter run. Her first gold medal came last year, when she finished at 2:06.49. At this year’s championships, she took first in the prelims with a qualifying time of 2:09.27, finishing at 2:06.54 in the finals.
Wrapping up the meet were the 3,000 meter run and the 4 x 400 meter relay. In the 3k, UConn had a top-10 finisher in Nahom, at 9:48.80. In the final event of the 2019 AAC Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championships, the 4 x 400 meter relay team for the Huskies finished second overall at 3:38.15, just behind the Cougars of Houston. UConn still holds the meet record established in 2014 at 3:37.92.
This is the fourth time this season that UConn has had two or more first-place finishers at a meet. Next up for the Huskies is the ECAC Championships in Boston, on March 2-3.
