DARTMOUTH, Mass. – It was an outstanding day of action for the UMass Dartmouth men's and women's track & field teams as they hosted the 2024 Little East Championship at the Corsair Track & Field Complex.
The Corsairs men finished third of eight teams, while the women were seventh overall on the day. Eastern Connecticut State claimed this year's title for the men, while the University of Southern Maine women repeated as champions once again.
In the track events, the day kicked off as
Sarah Lynch posted fifth overall in the grueling 10,000-meter run. Lynch recorded a time of 42:54.13 in the event. Next up was the men's 4x100-meter relay as the foursome of Justin Andrade, Xavier Manuel, Jalen Castillo and Yan De La Rosa captured third overall with a time of 43.32 – earning the Bronze medal and All-LEC Third Team honors.
The women's 3,000-meter steeplechase saw
Emma Steedman take the Bronze medal as well, garnering All-LEC Third Team with a time of 12:01.39 for third. The men's event saw Isaac Steele post eighth overall, finishing in a time of 11:53.06.
In the women's 1500-meter run,
Julia Latura finished seventh overall with a time of 5:21.65, while
Sophie Owen was 10th with a mark of 6:10.90. On the men's side, Cameron Thompson was fifth overall with a time of 4:11.97. Also finishing strong in the 1500 was Vinny Gardner, who took seventh in 4:15.57, while Ethan Sylvia was eighth in 4:18.19. Cooper Blatz and Brendan Gallagher posted 11th (4:30.19) and 12th (4:33.50), respectively.
Next up was the 110-meter hurdles as senior Cameron Rodgers captured his second straight title in the event. He posted a winning time of 14.85 meters for the Gold medal and All-LEC First Team honors. The women's 100-meter hurdles saw
Briana Caman post sixth overall with a time of 18.12.
In the women's 400-meter dash,
Allie Kimball paced the effort, posting fourth overall with a time of 1:05.65.
Tori Schweitzer posted 11th overall with a time of 1:10.57, while
Kyla Palmer was 13th in 1:13.56. The men's side of the 400 saw De La Rosa finish fifth in 51.83. Nico LaCortiglia was eighth overall in 52.17, while RJ Stone took 11th in 53.14.
The men's 100-meter dash saw Manuel post eighth overall with a mark of 12.91. In the women's 800-meters,
Isabella Gerardi finished 14th with a time of 2:59.41, while the men's side saw John Ziegler take fifth in 1:59.31. Gardner posted 15th overall in 2:06.01 to round out the 800.
In the women's 400-meter hurdles,
Grace Russell captured Bronze and All-LEC Third Team honors after taking third in a time of 1:10.52, while Caman posted sixth in 1:16.47. On the men's side, Rodgers earned his fourth consecutive 400-meter hurdle title – dating back to 2021. He posted a time of 55.12 for his second track Gold of the day and second All-LEC First Team honor. In addition to Rodgers, James Christie and Josh Kurutu posted 13th (1:06.93) and 14th (1:10.26), respectively.
The women's 200-meter dash saw Kimball back in action, finishing 13th in 29.48, while the men's event saw De La Rosa post seventh in 23.32. In the 5,000-meter run,
Bee Greenberg posted fourth overall with a time of 19:32.02, while
Anya Aadland took seventh with a time of 20:42.58.
The men's 5,000-meters was won by Jake Paris, who garnered Gold and All-LEC First Team honors with a winning time of 15:15.07. Also finishing strong for the men were Frank Wenner, who was seventh in 16:12.99, while Thompson was ninth with a mark of 16:25.85.
In the women's 4x800-meter relay, Owen, Lynch, Gerardi and Palmer combined for sixth overall in a time of 12:16.00, while the men's foursome of Blatz, Ben Bairos, Brendan Gallagher and Tyler Scanlon were fourth in 8:41.88.
The final track event of the day, the 4x400-meter relay, saw the women's group of Steedman, Latura, Schweitzer and Russell earn the Bronze and All-LEC Third Team honors with a time of 4:34.46. On the men's side, the foursome of Stone, Ziegler, Christie and LaCortiglia also captured Bronze, taking third in a time of 3:33.79 for All-LEC Third Team honors.
In the field events, the Corsairs had a solid day, beginning with the women's hammer throw as
Emily Hesketh earned Silver and All-LEC Second Team honors with a toss of 44.41 meters (145'8") for second.
Neisha Boiteux was seventh overall with a mark of 37.84 meters (124'2"), while
Mia Mejia-Maalouf,
Lauren Donlan and
Amanda Little posted 14th (33.69m-110'6"), 15th (33.27m-109'2") and 16th (31.08m-102'0").
The men's javelin saw Connor Richard post and incredible mark of 60.22 meters (197'7") to take second overall and the Silver with All-LEC Second Team honors, while in the men's high jump, Vincenzo Videtta was seventh overall with a height of 1.87 meters (6'1.5"). Also finishing well in the high jump was Zyeem Charles, who posted a height of 1.77 meters (5'9.75") for 11th overall.
In the women's high jump,
Isabella Taccogna finished seventh overall with a leap of 1.42 meters (4'8"), while the women's javelin saw Russell post seventh with a throw of 30.94 meters (101'6"). Mejia-Maalouf was eighth with a mark of 28.71 meters (94'2"), while
Alexa Lemieux placed 12th overall with a distance of 26.90 meters (88'3"). In the men's hammer throw, Joseph Uwanogho garnered Silver and All-LEC Second Team honors with a throw of 51.86 meters (170'2"), as Rodgers earned his third Gold and All-LEC First Team honors with a victory in the long jump. He posted a mark of 7.11 meters (23'4") to capture his second straight conference title in the event.
Also finishing strong in the men's long jump was Scott McDonough, who posted a mark of 6.65 meters (21'9.75") for seventh. Andrade was eighth with a jump of 6.46 meters (21'2.25"), while Edwin Fuentes posted 12th with a mark of 5.87 meters (19'3").
In the women's triple jump, Taccogna posted fourth overall with a mark of 10.16 meters (33'4"), while the women's shot put saw
Kate Hockenbury finish fifth with a throw of 11.38 meters (37'4"). Boiteux was sixth in the event with 10.86 meters (35'7.5"), while Hesketh was eighth with a throw of 10.61 meters (34'9.75").
Ana Tarason and Little rounded out the action in 10th (10.26m-33'8") and 14th (9.70m-31'10"), respectively.
Uwanogho returned to the podium in the men's discus, capturing Bronze and All-LEC Third Team with a throw of 41.58 meters (136'5"), while the women's event saw Boiteux post fourth with a mark of 34.68 meters (113'9"). Hesketh took sixth overall (32.77m-107'6"), while Little was seventh (31.69m-104'0").
The men's triple jump saw Charles earn the Silver and All-LEC Second Team honors with a distance of 13.14 meters (43'1.25"), while McDonough posted eighth with a mark of 12.40 meters (40'8.25"). Rounding out the action was Uwanogho, who was back on the podium for the men's shot put, earning Bronze and All-LEC Third Team honors with a throw of 13.19 meters (43'3.25").
The UMass Dartmouth squads return to action next week as qualified individuals head to Mount Holyoke College for the 2024 Division III New England Championships in South Hadley, Mass.
