Men's Track & Field Excels at 2026 Season Opener

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - Behind three victories and 11 New England D3 qualifying efforts, the UMass Dartmouth men's track & field team had an outstanding opener on Saturday at the non-team scoring Wesleyan Winter Invite. The Corsairs were paced by 31 finishes in the Top-10, including wins in the 600-meters, 200-meters and the high jump.

The 60-meter dash saw rookie Shemar Dillon take fifth overall with an NED3 Provisional qualifying mark of 7.17 in his collegiate debut. Junior Justin Andrade finished close behind, taking seventh overall in 7.36, while sophomore Daniel Jordan was 11th with a time of 7.30. Jordan rebounded in the 200-meter dash, claiming the victory with a time of 22.91. Dillon also finished strong in the 200, earning eighth overall in 23.44, while the 400-meter dash saw sophomore Bunmi Fabikun post seventh overall in 53.31. Classmate Zane Gordon also had a strong race, finishing ninth in 53.59, while rookie Trevor Godfrey was 14th with a time of 54.34.

Rookie Michael Veegh posted the Corsairs second victory of the day, claiming the win in the 600-meters with an NED3 Provisional mark of 1:24.72. Classmate Daniel Ward was close behind, earning second overall in 1:24.97, while rookie Edward Yeboah posted seventh in 1:30.09. Sophomore Isaac Toweh claimed 14th in 1:34.03, while rookie Jacob Marques was 15th in 1:35.21. Rounding out the packed field was junior Ben Bairos, who posted 17th (1:39.95). In the 1,000-meters, junior James Carriere was fourth overall in 2:48.62, while sophomore Jack Barbato posted fifth in 2:48.77. In the 1-Mile, junior Joseph Stanton crossed the line in fourth overall with a time of 4:33.16, while classmate Zach Schute was 16th in 4:L51.38. 

The 3,000-meter event saw senior Ethan Sylvia earn ninth overall with a time of 9:18.66, while it was a pair of top-five finishes in the 60-meter high hurdles. Pacing the way was rookie Jayden Francois, who posted third overall in a New England D3 Provisional time of 8.99. Fabikun also had a solid effort in fifth with a time of 9.22. Rounding out the track events was the 4x400-meter relays as the A squad of Shute, Barbato, Yeboah and Stanton took sixth overall in 3:44.47. The B group of Carriere, rookie Stevie MacLennan, Scanlon and Marques were eighth in 3:56.86, while senior Colin Ozturk, Sylvia, sophomore Connor Bruni and rookie Sean Benvissuto were ninth in 3:58.82. The final relay of sophomore Michael Gemelli, Toweh, Bairos and rookie Jake Faria were 11th overall in 4:02.33.

In the field events, it was a 1-2-3 sweep for the Corsairs in the high jump, paced by senior Vincenzo Videtta who claimed victory with a height of 1.95 meters (6' 4.75"). That mark was also a New England D3 Automatic qualifying mark. Rookie Ewan McLeod and sophomore Sean Patrone both posted the same heights of 1.95 meters (6' 4.75"), taking second and third overall with NED3 Automatic marks. In the pole vault, sophomore Devin Nieves was seventh overall with a height of 2.95 meters (9' 8.25"), while in the long jump, rookie Bryce Kankam was fourth overall with an NE D3 Provisional mark of 6.38 meters (20' 11.25"). Francois also posted an NED3 Provisional mark, earning fifth overall in the long jump with a distance of 6.37 meters (20' 10.75").

Rookie Anthony Drinkwater went on to finishe fifth in the triple jump with a distance of 12.95 meters (42' 5.75") - a mark that was also a New England D3 Provisional mark, while sophomore Ancil Alexander posted third overall in the shot put with an NED3 Automatic qualifying mark of 15.29 meters (50' 2"). Also finishing strong in the shot put was classmate Mickey Valentino, who was fifth overall with an NED3 Provisional distance fo 14.03 meters (46' 0.25"). Rookie Dan McCarthy also had a solid effort, taking 11th (12.53m; 41' 1.25"), while rookie Chalais Saintill and sophomore Kevin Saenz were 12th (12.51m; 41' 0.50") and 15th (12.05m; 39' 6.5"), respectively.

The last of the field events was the weight throw as rookie Michael Gama posted seventh overall with a throw of 14.07 meters (46' 2"). Valentino was 12th with a makr of 12.13 meters (39' 10"), while McCarthy took 16th (11.36m; 37' 3").

UMass Dartmouth returns to action next weekend, heading to Brandeis University to compete in the Reggie Poyau Memorial Invitational on Saturday, January 17.