MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – It was an outstanding start to the outdoor season for the UMass Dartmouth men's track & field team as they opened at the Swanson Invitational at Wesleyan University. The Corsairs saw a number of strong efforts, including a new school record in the discus throw and two Division III Top-10 marks.
In the field events, rookie
Ancil Alexander paced the way, winning the discus throw with a school record throw of 47.09 meters (154' 6"). He breaks the old school record of 46.95 meters (154'0"), set by Andrew Swallow in 2022. In addition to achieving the mark on his very first collegiate throw, his distance now ranks him fourth overall in Division III.
Also finishing strong was rookie
Kevin Saenz, who was 22nd overall with a throw of 31.92 meters (104' 9"), while classmate
Yariel Lara was 32nd with a mark of 27.67 meters (90' 9").
Javelin action was paced by senior
Connor Richard, who posted a personal record mark of 60.67 meters (199' 1"). That mark puts Richard sixth overall amongst the best in Division III this outdoor season.
In the shot put, Alexander was fifth overall with a throw of 13.58 meters (44' 6.75"), while rookie
Mickey Valentino posted 17th with a mark of 11.29 meters (39' 1.25"). Lara rounded out the action in 20th with a throw of 11.20 meters (36' 9").
Hammer Throw action saw Valentino place 17th overall with a distance of 36.43 meters (119' 6"), while Saenz was 25th with a mark of 24.66 meters (80' 11"). In the high jump, rookie
Sean Patrone posted victory with a height of 1.90 meters (6' 2.75"), while classmate
Scott Amin was fourth with a height of 1.80 meters (5' 10.75").
Rounding out the field event efforts was the long jump as Amin was 11th overall in 6.11 meters (20' 0.5"), while rookie
Devin Nieves was 19th with a mark of 5.84 meters (19' 2").
Shifting to the events on the track, the Corsairs saw a number of competitors in the 1500-meter run, paced by sophomore
Joseph Stanton who was 21st overall in 4:18.94. Sophomore
Ronan Maloney was 26th overall in 4:23.43, while classmate
Zack Shute posted 33rd in 4:26.47. In 36th was rookie
Jack Barbato with a time of 4:31.01.
In the 400-meter dash, rookie
Jonathan Gourdine was 18th in 53.85, while sophomore
RJ Stone was a fraction behind in 19th with a time of 53.86. The 100-meter dash saw senior
Xavier Manuel post third overall in 11.03, while junior
Jalen Castillo was 16th in 11.53.
Junior
James Christie was seventh in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:06.69 as rookie
Bryce Tessier was third in the 400-meter hurdles in 56.97. In the 200-meter dash, rookie
Zane Gordon took fifth overall in 22.68, while sophomore
Justin Andrade was 12th in 23.13. Manuel rounded out the event in 18th with a time of 23.30.
In the 3000m run, junior
Cooper Blatz finished 26th with a time of 9:55.98, while rookie
Michael Gemelli was 28th in 10:07.46. Sophomore
Ben Bairos finished 31st in 10:38.65.
Next up in the 5000 meter run, sophomore
Cameron Thompson powered his way to second overall with a time of 15:24.50. Fifth-year
Jake Paris took fourth in 15:42.11, while grad student
Davis Preston was fifth in 16:02.01. Junior
Ethan Sylvia finished seventh in 16:11.49, while
Connor Bruni posted 13th in a time of 16:40.01.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action next Saturday when it hosts the Corsair Classic at the UMD Track & Field Complex.
