West Hartford’s O’Connor Named Track Performer Of The Year

WEST HARTFORD, CT — West Hartford’s Grant O’Connor, a Hall High School graduate, was recently named the Liberty League’s Track Performer of the Year. O’Connor is a senior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a member of the men’s track and field team.

Previously selected as the Male Track Athlete of the Year in the Atlantic Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), O'Connor recently capped the indoor season with a third-place finish in the 5,000 meters at the 2019 Division III Men's Track & Field Championship to earn his first career indoor All-America certificate - and seventh overall. He finished in a time of 14:29.05 to defeat 17 others.

O'Connor began the season by winning the mile at the Utica College Pioneer Open with a time of 4:18.55 and a week later he ran the 3000 meters in 8:24.39 at Utica. The only 5,000 meter race he participated in came on February 8 at Boston University, where he crossed the finish line in 14:17.84, the third fastest time in Division III at that time. He concluded the regular season with personal-record times of 4:17.94 in the mile and 8:16.50 (converted from meet record time of 8:22.27) - which ranked fourth in Division III in 2019 - in the 3,000 meters at the Liberty League Championship Meet.

O'Connor earned USTFCCCA All-Region distinction in the mile, 3,000 and 5,000.

This is the third career season-ending conference award for the electrical engineering major, who was the Men's Outdoor Track Performer of the Year in 2018 and the Men's Indoor Rookie of the Year in 2015-16.